This edition of the SMERU Newsletter presents summaries, analysis, and opinion on the implementation of the BOS Program based on the results of the rapid appraisal of The SMERU Research Institute on the implementation of the BOS Program during the first semester of the 2005/2006 academic year. This edition is also enriched with the contributions of guest writers. The BOS Program is an interesting research topic because its approach and characteristics are different to the previous assistance programs for poor students in the sense that funds are not provided directly for poor students but for the schools instead to be managed by them.

Given that the main aim of the program is to exempt poor students from education costs, the column “Focus On” attempts to examine whether the BOS Program has the potential to enhance the access of the poor to education. Furthermore, the presentation of quantitative data in the column “And the Data Says” discloses the contribution of BOS to school budgets as well as the level of satisfaction of schools and stakeholders with the important phases of the program’s implementation. In addition, the column “From the Field” raises the issues of the joint-management problem in the BOS Program, the impact of the program on community participation, and the role of school committees. These articles complement the discussion on BOS by observing the effectiveness and other implications of the basic formulation of the program.

Our first guest writer, Budi Susetyo, a consultant to Depdiknas, presents a glance at the course of the BOS Program, while our second guest writer, Riswan Lapagu from The Center for the Betterment of Education (CBE), questions whether the BOS Program is the right solution to address the problems of education in Indonesia. Their contribution provides us with a comparison to SMERU’s study and help enhance our understanding about the implementation of the BOS Program.

Finally, the results of this SMERU study are expected to provide input for the planning and improvement of the program in the future.