In March and October 2005, the Government of Indonesia reduced fuel subsidy and allocated part of the funds to the BOS (Bantuan Operasional Sekolah-School Operational Assistance) Program, which commenced in July 2005. This program is provided for schools at the primary and junior high school levels and is intended to reduce the burden on the community, especially the poor, of the costs of education after the BBM (fuel) price rose. Different from the previous PKPS-BBM that had been provided in the form of BKM scholarships for students from poor family background, BOS was provided for schools. BOS funds were allocated on the basis of the number of students, with an amount of Rp235,000 per student per annum at the primary school (SD) level and Rp324,500 per student per annum at the junior high school (SMP) level. The APBN allocation to BOS funds for the period of JulyDecember 2005 was Rp5.136 trillion, or an approximate eightfold increase over the BKM budget for primary and junior high schools in the period of January-June 2005. This report was written on the basis of a rapid appraisal by The SMERU Research Institute in an effort to understand the implementation of BOS Program. This initiative was carried out in order to provide the lessons learned for the planning and improvement of the programs implementation. The study was conducted between February and May 2006. The fieldwork was conducted over approximately three weeks between February and March 2006 in ten samples of kabupaten/kota distributed across five provinces, namely Kabupaten North Tapanuli and Kota Pematang Siantar in North Sumatra, Kabupaten Lebak and Kota Cilegon in Banten, Kabupaten Malang and Kota Pasuruan in East Java, Kabupaten North Minahasa and Kota Manado in North Sulawesi, and Kabupaten Central Lombok and Kota Mataram in West Nusa Tenggara (NTB). This study adopts a qualitative approach. The collection of data and information was undertaken through in-depth interviews and focus group discussions (FGD). Interviews were conducted with various implementing institutions at the central, provincial, kabupaten/kota and school levels, including with school committees, teachers and students parents. FGDs were held in all 10 samples of kabupaten/kota and divided into two parts, namely FGDs with stakeholders in the field of education at the kabupaten/kota level, and FGDs with several school principals and school committees. Supporting information was also collected through interviews with other institutions that took part in monitoring the implementation of BOS Program.
