Singaraja- The jump in education budget allocations presented by the President of the Republic of Indonesia, Joko Widodo at the DPD and DPR RI sessions by setting a figure of IDR 505.8 trillion received attention from academics from the Ganesha Education University (Undiksha), Prof. Dr. I Wayan Lasmawan, M.Pd. This is considered proof of the government’s concern for how strategic and urgent the education sector is in producing superior human resources in the future.

However, according to him, how the increase in budget allocation can be answered correctly by the relevant ministries through the implementation of activities or programs. “The availability of budget allocations should be able to answer the basic problems of national education at this time,” he stressed. Improving the spirit and skills of innovation, thinking skills, revolution 4.0 literacy, and the creation of innovative jobs by graduates of educational institutions are considered to be matters that need serious attention from the government.

Apart from that, it is hoped that the Ministry of Education and Culture and the Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education will be able to translate the vision of an advanced Indonesia put forward by the President by improving governance regulations and the quality of performance of educational apparatus from upstream to downstream. Including how to provide adequate facilities and infrastructure, improve the competency of teaching staff (teachers and lecturers), the quality of learning, improve the recruitment system, empower, supervise, and assess the performance of education sector actors in a transparent and accountable manner. “The quality of education must be able to be in line with the demands of the 4.0 revolution era and the construction of future human resources needed by the world market share,” he said.

Apart from paying attention to the central government, this academic who is also Deputy Chancellor II of Undiksha said that educational institutions must also carry out a tit-for-tat movement towards the budget allocation policy. There is no fixation on administrative regulations. However, we must also take strategic steps to improve quality which is really needed in facing global competitiveness. “Educational institutions must be proactive in creating various strategies and models for HR management, learning practices, performance assessment, and quality acquisition in various sectors,” he said.

Additional education budget allocations will also be meaningless if they are not balanced with changes in the mental and moral skills of the perpetrators. For this reason, it is important to develop a performance measurement mechanism for education implementers that is capable of measuring personal and institutional performance achievements in a transparent and accountable manner through the system. “So that improvements in the educational sector are not centralized only on “continuous learning practices and curriculum improvements” but the quality of educational achievements is slow to progress or the quality achievements are not in line with expectations,” said this doctoral graduate from the Indonesian University of Education (UPI), Bandung.

According to him, education is a holistic process that includes the liberation of students from ignorance, helplessness, incompetence, and dishonesty. To make this happen, education should be developed by referring to the suitability of students’ talents, interests, abilities, needs, characteristics, and learning styles. “That is true quality education. “Education management must be staffed by the right people who have the same vision as the vision of an advanced Indonesia, namely educating all the nation’s children in Indonesian values ​​and character towards global competition,” he said.

Improving the education sector with adequate budget allocations, according to the academic who holds the title of professor at the age of 36, also needs to be directed at efforts to strengthen local values ​​and national culture in the entire education process itself. “So don’t let our educational practices lead to the fragility of the roots of the nation’s values ​​in the future selfhood of the nation’s children. “For this reason, a character education model must be developed, including anti-corruption education as a stand-alone subject from elementary school to higher education,” he explained. Through a number of strategic steps, it is believed that there will no longer be a centralization of education quality in one region but will be spread evenly and standardized from Sabang to Merauke, towards a developed Indonesia. “This is in line with the theme of the commemoration of the 2019 Proclamation of Independence, namely quality human resources for developed nations,” he added. (rls)