TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani has assured that the Indonesia Smart Card, or KIP, for university scholarships will not be affected by budget cuts. Sri Mulyani stated that the budget of Rp14,698,000,000,000 for KIP will still be distributed.

"The budget will not be cut or reduced," said Sri Mulyani at a press conference at the Senayan Parliamentary Complex on Friday, February 14, 2025.

Sri Mulyani said the recipients of KIP scholarships for the 2025 fiscal year amounted to 1,040,192 students. She said that all registered recipients would receive the benefits in full.

Before this, the Ministry of Higher Education, Research, and Technology emphasized that there would be no budget cuts for employee allowances, lecturer allowances, or student scholarships. Minister of Higher Education, Research, and Technology, Satryo Soemantri Brodjonegoro, stated that out of the total 2025 budget amounting to Rp56.6 trillion, the majority has been directly allocated to higher education institutions and scholarship-receiving students.

"The portion managed by the ministry's office is not more than 10% of the total budget allocation for the Ministry of Higher Education and Research Technology. This means that the direct allocation to higher education institutions or students is highly unlikely to be efficient," said Satryo during a working meeting with the House of Representatives Commission X on Wednesday, February 12, 2025.

Social assistance funds and scholarships unaffected by efficiency include the Indonesia Smart Card (KIP), the Indonesian Education Scholarship (BPI), the Higher Education Affirmation Scholarship (ADIK), the Developing Country Partnership Scholarship (KNB), as well as scholarships for lecturers and educational staff, both domestically and internationally.

Satryo explained that the budget for KIP Study scholarships was initially set at Rp14.69 trillion. However, the Directorate General of Budgeting made an efficiency of Rp1.31 trillion, or approximately 9%. He proposed that the budget remain at the original amount, which is Rp14.69 trillion so that it would not be included in the budget affected by efficiency.

M Rizky Yusrial contributed to this article.

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