The Pati Education Office strategy included:

1. Three meetings in February, June and July 2006 which came up with a unit cost for primary schools of Rp.27,903 per student per month and for junior secondary schools of Rp.45,208. Figures for senior secondary schools are still being worked out.

2. Schools were classified according to predetermined indicators (infrastructure, number of students, staff, school activities, community participation, school management and outputs) in three classes: Class A. (schools meeting expectations), Class B (standard schools) and Class C (schools giving a minimum level of service).

3. For each of the above cases maximum permissible contributions are to be decided by edict from the Bupati (District Head), in order to satisfy the community's sense of justice.

PATI: School Supervisors Program in Jakenan Subdistrict

As part of the effort to raise the quality of primary school teachers in Jakenan Subdistrict, primary school supervisors deve-loped a number of strategies and activities as follows (see photo on the right of Bpk Karwi, School Supervisor and Ibu Sumiyati, School Principal of SD Sembaturagung):

1. Sponsoring the formation of a team of subdistrict facilitators (12 teachers from MBE partner schools and 12 teachers from dissemination schools) to work directly to raise the quality of education in Jakenan subdistrict.

2. The subdistrict facilitators together with facilitators from other subdistricts were given training once a month by the MBE district facilitators to increase their understanding of PAKEM and help them to give effective mentoring to teachers.

3. The subdistrict facilitators were assigned to undertake mentoring in their cluster (KKG), assisted by teachers from MBE partner schools, according to an agreed timetable (Photo below: teachers discussing their lessons).

During the workshop the participants were trained in:

• Gap Analysis and identifying solutions to problems:In the hope that schools will be able to make a self assessment of "their current position and how they would like to make progress", and what they realistically need to do to achieve their aims, given the present condition of their schools.

Ibu Suhartati helping SDN Rowodadi decide on a scale of priorities for their school program

• SWOT Analysis: So that schools recognize internal and external factors which can support or may impede their efforts to achieve their aims and develop a variety of solutions to the problems which were identified in the previous step.

• Determining Priorities: Schools were expected to determine a scale of priorities within their program to decide what needs to be done in the near future, what can be done later, what needs to be done on an ongoing basis and what needs to be done only once.

• Making a School Budget: The aim of this activity was for schools to draw up a budget to fund the various programs which had been decided in the previous activity (a budget linked to the school plan) and to identify the sources of funding.
  
  Schools were asked to adopt the opposite way of thinking to the customary one, changing from "spending money according to the amount they receive" to "allocating and spending funds according to the needs of the school".

The workshop will be followed up by each school drawing up its school plan and budget, supported by the district facilitators, who will help them overcome any difficulties.