Quality Services for Elementary Schools in Medan City

Zoraya Alfathin Rangkuti and Mohammad Ridwan Rangkuti

Public Administration, FISIP Universitas Sumatera Utara, Indonesia

Keywords: Information, Illegal Charges, Education.

Abstract: Information is a discourse that serves to become knowledge for those who receive it. This study aims to

analyze how the process of illegal levies that occur in elementary and middle schools from the information

submitted. As well as analyzing what are the causes of illegal levies in elementary and middle schools in

Medan City. As there are reports from the KPK, ORI (Ombudsman of the Republic of Indonesia), and the

Mass Media which state that there are still illegal levies in the education sector in Medan City. The method

used in this research is a descriptive qualitative method with a case study approach to determine the

specifications of the information. Based on the results of this study, illegal levies in primary and secondary

schools still occur in all processes of the education system, such as new student admissions (input), learning

period (process), and completion of study period (output). Illegal levies in public services in primary and

secondary schools are caused by economic factors because there is an unbalance between receipts and

expenditures by bureaucrats and illegal levies are also caused by cultural factors that have been used since the

days of the Kingdom. Illegal levies also occur due to inconsistent or changing regulatory factors.

1 INTRODUCTION

People tend to have high trust in the government

because the government is considered capable of

meeting the needs of services (Dwiyanto, 2011).

Furthermore, Dwiyanto explained, to meet the need

for good service to the community, the government

must have a credible commitment, namely what is in

the interests of the citizens as well as the interests of

government bureaucratic officials, or at least the

actions of the government and its officials are always

based on the desire to realize the common good with

Public. In Indonesia, public service matters are

stipulated through Law Number 25 of 2009

concerning Public Services. In Article 1 it is stated

that, public services are activities or series of

activities in the context of fulfilling service needs in

accordance with statutory regulations for every

citizen and resident of goods, services, and/or

administrative services provided by public service

providers. Thus, it can be said that public service is

an activity to serve the needs of the community.

In addition to Law No. 25 of 2009, the definition

of public service can also be seen in the Decree of the

Minister for Empowerment of State Apparatus No.

63/KEP/M.PAN/7/2003. The Minister of PAN in

2003 defined public services as all service activities

carried out by public service providers as an effort to

fulfill the needs of service recipients and the

implementation of statutory provisions. Thus, the

purpose of public service is to meet the satisfaction of

the community. To meet the satisfaction of the

community, the need for excellent service quality or

good service according to applicable service

standards or owned by the agency in providing

services. Good service is seen if there is transparency,

accountability, conditional, participatory, equal

rights, and a balance of rights and obligations

(Ridwan et al., 2009). To develop good public

services (good governance), various aspects are

needed that must be addressed in the public

bureaucracy, so that excellent public services can be

realized, especially changes in mindset, which have

been the cause of poor public services (Safroni,

2012).

Based on the results of the Governance and

Decentralization Survey (GDS) research in 2002, it

was stated that there were 150 Cities/Regencies in

Indonesia (Dwiyanto, 2002). There are three

important problems that often occur in the field in the

implementation of public services that support this

conclusion. First, the magnitude of service

discrimination. Service delivery is still heavily

influenced by the relationship between similar

110

Rangkuti, Z. and Rangkuti, M.

Quality Services for Elementary Schools in Medan City.

DOI: 10.5220/0011541000003460

In Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Social and Political Development (ICOSOP 2022) - Human Secur ity and Agile Government, pages 110-116

ISBN: 978-989-758-618-7; ISSN: 2975-8300

 2023 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda. Under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

political, ethnic and religious affiliations. Second,

there is no certainty about the cost and time of service.

This uncertainty is often the cause of the emergence

of Corruption Collusion Nepotism (KswKN),

because service users tend to choose to bribe at high

costs to service providers to get quality services. And

third, the low level of community satisfaction with

public services.

This is a logical consequence of the existence of

service discrimination and the uncertainty of the cost

and time of service. Weak public services result in

low quality of public services. As revealed by the

Ombudsman of the Republic of Indonesia (ORI) who

said that the level of compliance of the Indonesian

government is very low in providing public services,

which is only around 18 to 20 percent. This can be

seen from the increase in the number of reports,

which on average is only 1500 complaints per year,

now increasing to 5000 reports per year or around an

increase of 350 percent in the last 3 years, namely

2011-2014 (ORI, 2016). In addition to ORI,

Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) also touched on

the issue of public services in Indonesia. According

to the 2016 ICW Report, the quality of public services

in Indonesia still has problems in several

fields/sectors. There are 5 top sectors with low quality

of public services and the most vulnerable to

corruption, namely; Regional finance (Rp.144.1

billion); Education sector (Rp. 142 billion);

Transportation sector (Rp.191.4 billion); Social

sector (Rp.12.1 billion); and Health sector (108.3

billion) (ICW, 2016). The sectors of low public

service quality in Indonesia are described below:

Picture 1.1

Low Service Quality Sectors in Indonesian

Source: Indonesia Corruption Watch, 2021

Transparency International (TI) Indonesia also

touched on the issue of public services, especially

those that are vulnerable to corruption. According to

TI Indonesia, the total number of corruption cases that

were investigated during 2010-2015 amounted to

3,042 cases with a total state loss of Rp. 33.2 trillion,

as well as the value of bribes of Rp. 999.6 billion.

These corruption cases are grouped into 3 (three)

public service sectors that are most vulnerable to

corruption, namely: the education sector (71 cases)

with a loss of Rp.185 billion; the transportation sector

(54 cases) with a loss of Rp.199 billion, and the sector

that most harmed the state was social society (50

cases) with a loss of Rp.639.8 billion (TI, 2021).

Similar to ORI and the KPK, the Head of the Task

Force (Kasatgas) for the Sweeping of Illegal Charges

(Saber Pungli) Komjen Dwi Priyatno also said that

the highest extortion practice was in the education

sector and the practice of extortion still occurred until

now in 2017 (Republika, 2017) . Given the high cases

of extortion practices in North Sumatra Province,

especially Medan City and the focus is on the

education sector, the researchers are interested in

studying more deeply the process of illegal levies on

elementary and middle schools in Medan City and the

causes of illegal levies on elementary and middle

schools. in Medan City.

2 METHOD

This study uses a descriptive qualitative research

design with a case study approach. The use of

descriptive type as a procedure for solving problems

investigated by describing or describing the state of

the subject or object under study (a person,

institution, community, etc.). This type of qualitative

research has the aim of explaining a phenomenon

interpretively and is used to understand the

perspective of the actor (Sarosa , 2012:7-8)

Qualitative research uses inductive methods to draw

conclusions from research results so that it does not

require generalization.

3 RESULT AND DISSSCUSION

Based on reports from a number of official

institutions that pay attention to public services,

various kinds of levies and donations still occurred

until 2017. Especially, donations or levies on public

services at elementary and secondary schools in

Medan City. The Ombudsman of the Republic of

Indonesia (ORI) Representative of North Sumatra, for

example. In the 2017 ORI Report, it is stated that

extortion still occurs in public services in the

education sector in Medan City. Extortion in

elementary school, for example. ORI Representative

Quality Services for Elementary Schools in Medan City

111

for North Sumatra stated that there was an allegation

that the Principal of the SD Negeri Jl. Sei Farmers,

doing illegal levies (extortion) to parents of students

amounting to Rp. 15,000/student for the construction

of school gates (ORI, 2021).

In the previous year, 2016 for example, ORI said

there were also a number of administrative mall

activities and extortion in a number of elementary and

junior high schools in Medan. For example, the mal

administration of illegal levies at SMP Negeri 7

Medan. Allegations of maladministration related to

education carried out by the Principal of SMP Negeri

19 Medan. There was a request for money from

students by the MI Negeri Medan, which is located in

the suburbs of Medan City (Tembung). There are

allegations of requests for money/illegal levies for the

purchase of brooms; money for retired teachers; and

the teacher's wife who died. In addition, the money

for the purchase of SBK (Art and Culture Skills) and

money for LKS (Student Work Sheets) were made by

the Principal of SMP Negeri 6 Medan. A number of

research informants who were willing to be

interviewed also confirmed the Report of the ORI

Representative for North Sumatra. That there are still

levies and donations to parents of students carried out

by several schools in Medan, both elementary and

junior high schools. This is as revealed from the

results of the interview:

"Yes, in general, I think there are still extortion in

Medan (performed by) elements. However, they are

also good at accepting such extortion. And not open.

In my opinion, togetherness is needed, including ORI.

If according to ORI there is still extortion, ORI should

have the courage to report it to the DPRD so that it

can act together. Don't just make an opinion. Because,

to eradicate this extortion, we must be able to act

together. There must be action and OTT. And make

traps. Not just talking. Do not just look, and do not

dare to act. Should there be extortion, we should trap

them together. So, don't just talk. If you look at the

city of Medan, it is recognized that there are still

individuals who carry out such extortion” (Member

of the Medan City DPRD, 18 October 2021).

Likewise several other informants. For example,

a journalist for a daily newspaper in Medan, as well

as parents of students. They also admit that extortion

is still happening in Medan City elementary and

secondary schools. Journalists stated that illegal

levies most often occur in Medan. Meanwhile,

parents of students who also still have children who

are attending elementary and middle schools in

Medan. As a parent, he always follows the

development of school education through mass

media. He said, "...if you look at the mass media...,

there are still extortion going on." (Parents of

students, October 19, 2021). Meanwhile, other

informants from the Medan City Government

bureaucracy also confirmed that there were still

illegal fees for elementary and middle schools in

Medan. He stated,

“...justifies the existence of extortion, but it cannot

be proven.” (Education Department employee,

October 24, 2021).

Illegal levies in schools will continue to take root

and spread if left unchecked. How not, the number of

students who register for school until now continues

to grow. This was done not only by unscrupulous

educators or teachers, but also by elements of the

school bureaucracy to practice extortion in collecting

rupiah coffers. The world of school education has

entered the practice of extortion which of course does

not reflect the behavior of educators. This occurs in

public schools in the city of Medan, such as

elementary and middle schools.

The policy in the education sector aims to achieve

at least the 12-year compulsory education program so

that students can attend high school or the equivalent,

delay the age for marriage, and improve the quality of

education to face competition. To see the process by

which illegal levies for primary and secondary

schools in Medan City occur, the Ministry of National

Education (2007) suggests that the education system

in schools is a complex process, involving various

interrelated components. If the educational effort is to

be carried out properly, then the various components

and their interrelationships need to be identified,

studied and developed so that the overall working

mechanism between the components, namely

educational activities, will be able to produce optimal

results. The current education system includes input

elements, namely the acceptance of new students, the

process is said to be during the learning period and

the output is the completion of the study period

(graduates).

3.1 New Student Admission (input)

In public services at primary and secondary schools

in Medan City, there are various forms of levies and

donations contained in the stages of the education

process. This was obtained when the researcher

studied information from a number of people who

were willing to become informants in this study. It is

known that illegal levies occur at all stages of the

education process system in schools, namely during

the process of accepting new students, during the

learning period, and completing the study period.

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Extortion that occurs at the time of admission of new

students is at the time of entering the new school year.

At the time of the new school year, many

unscrupulous educators collect fees, such as when

students wish to enroll in favorite schools, they must

"pay" to be accepted into the school. The amount of

the payment has been determined by the school. As is

known, the admission of new students at SMP Negeri

1 Medan and other favorite junior high schools, they

set a price of around Rp. 7 million per student. The

conditions that must be met beforehand are not only

by providing money but also in the "zone" of the

school. As is known, the zone system has now been

implemented. And for favorite elementary schools,

schools set a price of around Rp. 3 million per student.

This has become an open secret that is no longer

hidden (Parents of students, 2021). In conducting

interviews with lecturers and education consultants.

He mentioned, several forms of illegal levies that

occur at all stages of the education process. Start

acceptance of new students, at the time of graduation.

And, in extra-curricular activities during school. This

is as revealed from the results of the interview:

“The most frequent extortion is at the time of

admission of new students in elementary and junior

high schools. Because, at that time the school usually

set some funding. For example, development

financing, financing related to school attributes.

Then, money dues for several student activities. Then,

in the second stage, at the time of graduation, students

are usually charged fees beyond what should have

been incurred. This usually happens to parents

because they are afraid that their child will not

graduate, so parents do anything related to payments”

(Lecturer and Education Consultant, October 17,

2021).

Regarding illegal fees in the process of accepting

new students, he then explained further:

“The process of receiving extortion is still going

on. We get many reports from the public, from up

loading on social media as well as information being

spread, there are still many extortion cases in Medan

for 2017. There are still a lot of admissions for

students who are entrusted with it. We see that there

is a term in Medan called “stealth” students. This

happens not only at the elementary, junior high, but

also at the high school level. Recently there was a big

case, for example in SMA N 9 it still happens often.”

(Lecturer and Education Consultant, 17 October

2021).

In another part of the interview, the Lecturer and

Education Consultant tried to make criteria for levies

that could be categorized as extortion in schools. This

can be expressed from the results of the interview:

“Receipts that can be considered extortion exist

when, for example, an increase is made without the

approval of the Education Council. Like,

development money. Then, there is more stealth

money. The biggest extortion was bribe money so that

his son could enter. Because, the current system

already uses the actual zoning system, the greater the

incidence of extortion. Because, parents are having a

bit of trouble sending their children to school outside

of their area. In addition, the quota from elementary

and junior high schools has led to widespread

citations to new students” (Lecturer and Education

Consultant, 17 October 2021).

Meanwhile, a journalist who came from among

journalists, gave a more detailed explanation of the

forms and processes of extortion at the stage of new

student admissions.

“Extortion that occurs when purchasing school

books at the cooperative. Only yesterday there was a

purchase of school supplies/ATK equipment.

Yesterday, there was also a polemic regarding the

purchase of books and stationery at the Cooperative.

However, Kadis provides a middle ground. Because,

this cooperative is definitely looking for profit. And

this cooperative also they are not like in the market.

Looking for profit is not too high from the market

price, and can be paid in installments. And you can't

make unilateral decisions. In other words, the

Cooperative may not sell. And in fact, many

comparisons even support. Like many students'

parents who support the existence of cooperatives."

(Journalists, 16 October 2017).

Even at the 2017 admissions, there were no

outstanding problems. However, in the interview

section, the parents of the students admitted that there

was a quotation of ATK equipment to him amounting

to Rp. 10 thousand per month. However, in another

part of his interview, he mentioned the existence of

students entrusted to several elementary and junior

high schools in Medan City. He said:

"Students who have been entrusted have received

reports. In one school, there was an excess of quotas

in SD and SMP 1. There was chaos at the time of

admitting new students, which were determined

according to the zone. So it seems that such polemics

have been handled by the Education Office. So, it's

not there anymore. The children who have excess

quota are transferred.” (Journalists, October 16,

2021).

Regarding the existence of illegal fees in the

process of admitting new students, an employee of the

Education Office who is also a former Principal of a

State Elementary School in the Helvetia Region, said

that illegal fees generally occur in favorite schools.

Quality Services for Elementary Schools in Medan City

113

According to him, illegal levies are not the only desire

of the school. But, also because of the strong

encouragement from parents who tend to force their

desire to send their children to these favorite schools.

3.2 Economic Factors and Cultural

Factors

Of the various processes and forms of illegal levies

that still occur in public elementary and secondary

schools in Medan City, this is motivated because the

practice of extortion has become a culture in addition

to economic factors in Medan City in particular.

Illegal levies are mentioned as a cultural

phenomenon, which is a habit that is usually carried

out by the State Civil Apparatus (ASN). In this case,

school officials and teachers. Habits that have existed

since the past, until now, and even in the future.

Soedjono (2016) suggests that economic factors and

cultural factors are some of the factors that cause an

individual to commit illegal levies. Illegal levies that

occur in schools are caused by cultural factors other

than economic factors. This is as revealed from the

results of interviews by DPRD members:

“The reason someone commits extortion is

because of mental/spiritual faith which over time

becomes a cultural factor. Not an economic factor. So

if the faith is strong then any temptation that exists

will not be contaminated. If the faith is weak, over

time it becomes easily contaminated which in time

becomes a culture. To increase our faith, it is

necessary to study more in the field of religious

knowledge in school. The bad thing is that in the

world of education in our country, when the

leadership changes, the education curriculum system

also changes. We see now that religious subjects have

been reduced to even more emphasis on general

subjects (not supported by the government). Then

give a reason that says "I understand, the teacher's

salary is small" even though we see that there are

many existing allowances." (Member of DPRD, 18

October 2021).

A lecturer also admitted that extortion occurs

based on cultural reasons behind it. In full, he stated,

"We also can't justify this only on economic

reasons as a justification. But by looking at the actual

conditions in the city of Medan, extortion has become

an ordinary culture. It is necessary to take very special

actions or be considered as special crimes so that this

extortion culture does not run rampant. There needs

to be firmness and willpower from all parties so that

extortion does not run rampant. The existence of the

Saber Extortion organization, for example, we see

that it has not been effective in preventing extortion

that is rampant in Medan City.” (Lecturer, October

17, 2017).

Meanwhile, journalists see extortion more as an

economic problem. He said,

“...The economic reasons behind the existence of

extortion. Because the salary is less. And to take care

of promotions and classes, it is said that teachers have

to pay fees but the teachers are reluctant to be open

about it.” (Journalists, October 16, 2021).

In the Medan City government, the Mayor has not

issued regulations as a follow-up to Permendikbud

Number 44 of 2012, so there is no legal umbrella for

schools in Medan to make donations and levies. So

that it can be said that all donations and levies are

illegal levies. The causes of illegal levies in public

services at elementary and secondary schools in

Medan City are not only caused by economic and

cultural factors but also due to regulatory factors. For

this reason, the role of individuals and bureaucrats is

very important to make changes both in terms of

culture and following up on educational regulations.

4 CONCLUSIONS

Based on the results of the research analysis and

associated with the objectives to be achieved, the

conclusions that can be drawn in this study are as

follows: 1. The Process of Illegal Charges Following

up on the existing research questions, it can be

concluded that there is still a practice of illegal levies

in primary and secondary schools in Medan City. The

practice of extortion still occurs at all stages of the

education system. This study discusses several

education systems related to the existence of illegal

levies. According to the Ministry of National

Education (2007) suggests that education services in

schools are said to be a system. The education system

in question is that the education business is a complex

process, including various interrelated components

such as input, process and output. a. Illegal levies still

occur at all stages in schools, both in the process of

admitting new students (input), learning period

(process) and completion of study period (output).

This has violated the regulations set by the

government and set forth the policy form

Permendikbud No. 60 of 2011 where in the regulation

it is stated that the Government and Regional

Governments guarantee the implementation of

compulsory education programs at the elementary

and secondary school levels without charging a fee.

In addition, it was also emphasized that levies burden

the community so that it can hinder public access to

basic education services. Based on these two things,

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the rules are set. The regulation has stated that schools

owned by the government and local governments

(State Elementary Schools and State Junior High

Schools) as implementing compulsory education

programs are prohibited from collecting investment

and operational costs from students, parents or

guardians. b. The Minister of Education and Culture

Regulation Number 44 of 2012 concerning levies or

donations for elementary and secondary school fees

(SD and SMP) reaffirms that every levy/donation is

said to be legal/extortionate. Such as selling

textbooks, teaching materials equipment, uniforms,

or learning clothing materials in education units;

collect fees in providing tutoring or tutoring to

students in education units, paying tuition fees,

development contributions, registration fees for re-

registration, birthday fees for school heads or

teachers, teacher retirement fees, and art performance

fees. Doing everything, either directly or indirectly,

that injures the integrity of the evaluation of student

learning outcomes and/or collects levies on students,

either directly or indirectly, which is contrary to the

provisions of laws and regulations. c. Then it was

added to the Regulation of the Minister of Education

and Culture Number 80 of 2015 concerning technical

instructions for the use and accountability of BOS

funds (School Operational Costs) for elementary and

junior high schools. He explained that the BOS funds

were a government program to help meet school

operational costs and other financing to support the

learning process.

But now a lot of BOS funds have been

misappropriated. Extortion as an economic factor

because as a means to increase income or income.

Extortion is also to meet the increasing expenses.

Routine income received every month is considered

not/less sufficient expenditure. Income that is not

sufficient for the necessities of life or not in

proportion to the duties/positions carried out makes a

person compelled to commit extortion. Start routine

operational expenses every month. Until, the cost for

promotion/ class for teachers. In addition, the extra

costs of maintaining social relations in the community

society.

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