REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The Ministry of Religious Affairs of Indonesia distributed IDR 306 billion to 12,741 working groups madrasahs spread across Indonesia for quality improvement through the Madrasah Education Quality Reform or MEQR program.
The Ministry is committed to improving the quality of teachers, madrasah heads, and educational personnel through the Program for Continuing Professional Development (PPKB) Realizing Education's Promise: Support to Indonesia's Ministry of Religious Affairs for Improved Quality of Education (Madrasah Education Quality Reform/MEQR).
“This assistance is provided to the working groups to realize the programs that have been designed, namely strengthening and expanding the access of working groups of teachers and madrasah education personnel,” said the Director General of Islamic Education of the Ministry of Education Muhammad Ali Ramdhani in a written statement in Jakarta on Saturday.
Ali mentioned that the aid funds were provided to working groups scattered throughout the province, and included beneficiaries of the Ministry's MEQR program. The aid is provided in the form of a fund or block grant with a total of IDR 306.645 billion.
He also explained that the strategy of improving the competence of teachers and educational personnel carried out by the Ministry of Education so far is by strengthening the role of teacher working group (KKG), subject teacher deliberation (MGMP), teacher guidance counseling (MGBK), madrasah working group (KKM), and supervisory working group.
In 2021, the total beneficiaries amounted to 4,800 working groups with a budget of IDR 113,280 billion, and targeted 71,379 teachers or madrasah educators. Then, in 2022, the total beneficiaries amounted to 4,373 working groups with a budget of IDR 104.865 billion and targeting 80,286 teachers or madrasah educators.
“Further, in 2023, the total beneficiaries amounted to 3,568 working groups with a budget of IDR 88.5 billion and targeting 64,751 madrasah teachers/educators,” he said.
Thus, Ali continued, the overall total from 2021 to 2023, there were 215,416 beneficiaries of both teachers and madrasah educators.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Project Management Unit Realizing (PMU) of REP-MEQR Abdul Rouf said that the provision of assistance to the working groups is used to organize continuous professional development activities in order to build a learning community of teachers closest to their workplace.
“Aid in 2021 was provided to only 21 provinces, another 13 provinces will only get access to aid in 2022. In 2021, the aid package targeted 4,800 working groups, but managed to reach 4828 working group,” he said.
As for the distribution of areas per beneficiary province in 2021, namely Aceh, Jambi, West Sumatra, Riau, North Sumatra, Riau Islands, Lampung, South Sumatra, West Java, DKI Jakarta Banten, Central Java, IN Yogyakarta, East Java, West Nusa Tenggara, South Kalimantan, West Kalimantan, East Kalimantan, Gorontalo, Central Sulawesi and Sulawesi South esi.
Meanwhile, in 2022, the provinces receiving aid are Bengkulu, Bangka Belitung Islands, Bali, NTT, Central Kalimantan, North Kalimantan, North Sulawesi, West Sulawesi, Southeast Sulawesi, Maluku, North Maluku, Papua and West Papua.