Evaluation of poverty alleviation policy: Can conditional cash transfers improve the academic performance of poor students in Indonesia?

Abstract

This paper aims to investigate the influence the Program Keluarga Harapan (PKH) in Indonesia, on the academic performance of poor students in elementary and junior high school. The design of this impact assessment was based on Randomized Control Trial (RCT). Data was drawn from panel surveys conducted in six provinces in 2007, 2009 and 2013, covering approximately 3,360 villages. Evaluation of the PKH found that it has been able to increase net enrolment rate by 7.1% and the gross participation rate for junior high school students by 7.6%. Nonetheless, PKH has yet to yield significant increases in enrolment and gross participation rate at the primary school level. PKH significantly improves student attendance at the elementary level but, contrarily, has not shown a significant impact on junior high school attendance. PKH delivers significant results in terms of school examination achievement at the junior high school level for Bahasa Indonesia, Mathematics and English, as well as national examinations for Mathematics. However, the basic education in Indonesia is still unable to address issues of the teacher absenteeism (in both elementary and junior high schools) and the lack of quality educational facilities.

Keywords:

• poverty alleviation
• conditional cash transfer
• academic performance

Public Interest Statement

This paper report on the evaluation of the poverty alleviation program in Indonesia through education aid of Program Keluarga Harapan (PKH), the first conditional cash transfer program in Indonesia. The results show a correlation that PKH affect the academic performance of poor students. There is an increase in the net enrolment rate for junior high school student, the student’s presence in class for elementary school, and the grades of three subjects in elementary school final examination. This is significant because poverty alleviation program in Indonesia is rising. This paper reports a comprehensive study which can represent the condition in Indonesia with a wide coverage in the nation. It may also be valid for other developing countries. Having a well educated young age group of that population will be a true benefit for the country surveillance.

Acknowledgements

Authors acknowledge the Centre for Population and Policy Studies (CPPS) Universitas Gadjah Mada, as an institution that has conducted field research of Health Service and Education Survey (SPKP) funded by the World Bank in 2007, 2009 and 2013 funded by National Team for the Acceleration of Poverty Reduction (TNP2K), Indonesia.

Notes

1. Oportunidades is a CCT program in Mexico. Fiszbein and Schady (2009, p. 3) explain that this programme started with approximately 300,000 beneficiary households in 1997, but now covers 5 million households. Previously called Progresa, this programme was renamed Oportunidades in 2001.

2. Data is accessible from the Health Service and Education Survey (SPKP 1) 2007 collected by the Centre for Population and Policy Studies (CPPS) Universitas Gadjah Mada and financed by the World Bank. http://microdata.worldbank.org/index.php/catalog/1047.

3. Data is accessible from the Health Service and Education Survey (SPKP 3) 2009 collected by the Centre for Population and Policy Studies (CPPS) Universitas Gadjah Mada and financed by the World Bank. http://microdata.worldbank.org/index.php/catalog/1049.

4. Data is accessible from the Health Service and Education Survey (SPKP 4) 2013 collected by the Centre for Population and Policy Studies (CPPS) Universitas Gadjah Mada and financed by the National Team for the Acceleration of Poverty Reduction (TNP2K) (Centre for Population and Policy Studies, 2014).

5. Data from the Ministry of National Education (2012) indicates that there are 133,597 state elementary schools in Indonesia; meanwhile, there are 20,594 state junior high schools (Indonesia educational statistics in brief, 2011/2012).

6. Both indicators have been selected because they are able to describe students’ level of knowledge achieved while studying at the school.

7. SD YPPGI Pirime is a name of elementary school in Keerom Regency, Papua Province.

8. The amount of special allowance is equal in amount to one month’s salary.

Additional information

Funding

Funding. The authors received no direct funding for this research.

Notes on contributors

Agus Heruanto Hadna

Agus Heruanto Hadna holds PhD in Public Administration from Institut fuer Politikwissenschaft, Fachbereich Gesellschaftswissenschaften, Universitaet Duisburg-Essen, Germany. Curently the author is a lecturer in Department of Management and Public Policy, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada and hosts several courses: Theory on Public Policy, Analysis of Public Policy, and Monitoring and Evaluation of Policy. He also has expertise in Policy and Public Management by actively managing several research and training to increase the public services as well as other governance issues in administering the local government management. The author too is active in discussions on policy and poverty alleviation program in national level to grass-roots. In addition, he also is a senior researcher at Center for Population and Policy Studies, Universitas Gadjah Mada. He has experience as a team leader in various major research as well as active in mentoring public and local governemnents in remote areas throughout Indonesia.