A free education policy in Indonesia for equitable access and improvement of the quality of learning

Abstract In relation to fee-free education policy, previous research was dominated by the implementation and evaluation of these policies, and no research has examined the effect of free education policies on equitable access and improving the quality of learning in Indonesia. The study aimed to examine the effect of free education policies on equitable access to education services and the quality of learning in Indonesia. The method used is quantitative with Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) data analysis. The results showed that: 1) the implementation of the free education policy had a direct and significant effect of 68.5% on equal access to education services, 2) the implementation of the free education policy had a direct and significant effect of 29.6% on improving the quality of learning, 3) the implementation of the free education policy also indirectly has an effect of 49.8% on improving the quality of learning, 4) the implementation of equitable access to educational services has a direct and significant effect of 72.7% on improving the quality of learning. This research contributes to providing an overview of the effectiveness of free education policies through school operational assistance funds to implementers and policy recipients and assists the government in formulating policies that will be able to help accelerate the achievement of national education goals.


PUBLIC INTEREST STATEMENT
Free education policies play an essential role in successfully improving the quality of learning and access to primary schools by eliminating costs.SEM analysis revealed that the implementation of the free education policy has a direct and significant effect on equitable access and the quality of learning; the implementation of the free education policy indirectly affects the improvement of the quality of learning; and the implementation of equitable access to educational services has a direct and significant effect on improving the quality of learning.This study showed that the government needs to provide all the necessary support, funds, and qualified teachers and ensure a conducive learning environment for students to reduce dropouts and improve student performance.The government must carry out active and massive socialization related to free education policies for schools, parents, and the community.

Introduction
Over the past two decades, the number of countries with fee-free education policies has risen significantly.Governments across the globe have poured resources into lowering or eliminating the costs associated with sending students to school, which has helped increase the proportion of children enrolled in schools worldwide (Kretzer, 2020;UNESCO, 2015;Walton, 2019).However, many countries-including post-independence African nations such as Kenya, Ghana and Tanzania (Bown, 2009;Sasaoka & Nishimura, 2010)-have found it difficult to maintain these policies in the face of competing for political priorities, resource constraints and concerns about the impact of fee-free education policies on educational quality.Specifically in Kenya, the policy of free education still faces serious challenges based on data collected by the African Centre for Population and Health Research (APHRC) which shows that many children transfer to private schools at low or high costs for reasons of seeking better quality (Oketch et al., 2011).The Kenyan Government's aim to provide free education for all is hindered by some parents transferring their children to private schools, even if it incurs additional costs.This prevents certain members of society from benefiting from the free education initiative (Tooley et al., 2008).In addition, research on the impact of tuition waiver policies and the introduction of mother-tongue teaching in Ethiopia was conducted using temporal and geographical variations at the school level (Chatterjee et al., 2018).
Several European countries have also implemented the Free education policy, including Norway.In Norway, the free education policy for all students at all levels of public institutions has executive and legislative support.The government finances compulsory and upper secondary education and training through grants to cities and districts.The total budget given by the government is based on the multi-element formula; the district is responsible for establishing and operating schools and ensuring quality.Approved private educational and training institutions will provide public programs and receive financial support at a rate of 75-90% of the costs from the government and cover the rest of their budget with tuition fees paid by students (Farstad et al., 2022).In addition, countries in Asia that have implemented the free education policy include India.The implementation of the free education policy in India has already begun after independence, as stated in section 45 of the Constitution of India of 1950.The free education policy applies universally to children up to the age of 14.However, this policy has yet to be maximized with the low achievement of school registrants.This was a major concern of policymakers, thus prompting the establishment of a national education policy by the Indira Gandhi government, which was revised in 1992 by the Rajiv Gandhi administration (Afridi, 2011;Chatterjee et al., 2018;Govinda & Bandyopadhyay, 2010).
Considering that education is an obligation, the Indonesian government provides facilities for implementing education during the reform order period, supported by a policy to finance education called School Operational Assistance (BOS).BOS aims to cover various items of educational needs or financing.Starting from infrastructure and superstructure needs to the needs of learners.This policy has been running for more than 10 years, so it is necessary to analyze the effectiveness of the free education policy through school operational assistance funds and how the community accepts the program.
The research results on evaluating the School Operational Assistance (BOS) fund program in Indonesia show that it needs to run well to be fully improved.The low effectiveness of the implementation and polemic of the free education policy is in line with the results of the study on the achievement of the School Participation Rate released by the Ministry's Data and Information Technology Center (PUSDATIN) of Education and Culture.The results of the study showed a low Gross Participation Rate (APK) and Pure Participation Rate (APM) in East Java Province, especially Probolinggo City, compared to other cities in East Java that implemented free education policies through the provision of regional school operational assistance funds (BOSDA) (Pusat Data dan Teknologi Informasi Kemendikbud, 2021).
The research results on evaluating BOS funds in Junior High Schools (SMP) in Semarang City show that the potential of BOS funds has yet to reach all poor/poor students to obtain adequate educational services (Karding, 2008).Other research related to the evaluation of the implementation of the free education policy in Sukoharjo Regency shows the process of implementing the free education policy at the secondary school level in Sukoharjo Regency in terms of resources, communication, disposition, and bureaucratic structure.Indicators of resources and communication still need to be higher; budgetary resources to schools can only meet academic activities and lack clarity of information regarding the meaning of free education to the community (Yuliana et al., 2015).
Around the world, policymakers find it difficult to maintain a cost-free education policy because politicians can significantly undermine national cost-free education policies by diverting resources to sub-national administrations, where funds can be used to shore up political support (Walton & Hushang, 2021).In addition, contradictory research results were found, in which the experience of developing countries shows that free education policies often fail to improve access and quality of education (Bentaouet- Kattan, 2006;Rosser & Joshi, 2013;Somerset, 2009;Walton & Hushang, 2021), but other research shows that free education policies improve access to education and the quality of learning or education (Arends-Kuenning & Vieira, 2015;Chatterjee, 2018;Chicoine, 2019;Honga, 2020, Lyanga & Chen, 2020;Marzuki, 2011;Munadi, 2013;Rahman & Nasihin, 2020, Ruswati & Shang'wet, 2020).Therefore, based on previous research, it was found that research is more focused on implementing fee-free education policy and evaluating free education policies; no research has examined the effect of free education policies on equitable access and improving the quality of learning in Indonesia, and there are inconsistencies in previous studies.In addition, what is interesting in this study is that other countries do not have free education policy programs through School Operational Assistance (BOS) and Regional School Operational Assistance funds (BOSDA), only in Indonesia.Hence this study aimed to examine the effect of free education on equal access and improving the quality of learning in Indonesia.
This study is important because it can provide an overview of the effectiveness of free education policies through school operational assistance funds and how the acceptance of policy implementers and recipients as well as formulating policies that would be able to help accelerate the achievement of educational goals held in Probolinggo City, Indonesia.

Free education policy in Indonesia
The free education policy is synonymous with eliminating user fees on educational services (Kattan, 2006).The cost of eliminated educational services varies between countries, including fees for learning, exams, textbooks, uniforms, and other fees.Most countries implementing free education policies focus on primary education because it is more accessible to the poor than secondary or higher education (Kattan, 2006).If the state does not implement a free education policy or provide sufficient resources for schools, then the school must increase its resources through fees (World Bank, 2004).In this study, the free education policy eliminates user fees on educational services (Kattan, 2006).The costs of eliminated educational services are an investment and operating costs.
Education is the right of all citizens; as stated in the Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia 1945, education is a human right for all citizens, and then the state is obliged to facilitate the provision of education.On that basis, the Indonesian government, from the new order period of 1965 to 1998, has established education as a development priority.The policy at that time was known as the policy of six-year compulsory education to compulsory education for the same year.Continued in the reform period marked in 2001, Indonesia also set a compulsory education policy for the year towards compulsory education of 12 years.The compulsory education policy is supported or gives birth to a new policy called the free education policy.
The implementation of education in Indonesia is the responsibility of the central government, local governments, and the community (Law Number 20 of 2003).Various education policies are carried out to ensure the implementation and expansion of access to education.The free education policy in Indonesia is implemented as a mandate of article 34 of Law Number 20 of 2003 concerning the National Education System, which states that the government and local governments guarantee the implementation of compulsory education at least at the primary education level without charging fees.This is the basis for implementing the free education policy, especially at the primary education level, namely Elementary School and Junior High School.The free education policy carried out by the Central Government to improve the quality of learning and equitable access to education services is realized by allocating and distributing regular school operational assistance funds (BOS) for all primary education units in Indonesia (Regulation of the Minister of Education and Culture of the Republic of Indonesia Number 6 of 2021 concerning Guidelines for The Management of Regular School Operational Assistance Funds).
Implementing the free education policy in Indonesia through operational assistance funds (BOS) received by schools has been used as appropriate for education financing, especially school operational costs (Ahmad & Weyai, 2021).The free education policy is reasonably satisfactory to the needs of the community in education; the implementation of free education is evenly distributed, the community supports the implementation of free education, and Free Education is right to be implemented in schools (Asyiah et al., 2017).The negative impact is that the free education policy for secondary education is successful in quantity.Still, in quality, it has not been successful because it is not balanced with improving the quality of education (Suyahman, 2016).In addition, the implementation of the free school policy cannot be expected in the efforts of schools to be of high quality based on the National Education Standards (SNP) and the motivation of students and parents to support the improvement of the quality of education to low community participation is still not optimal (Rahman & Nasihin, 2020;Ruswati & Munadi, 2013).This problem needs to be followed up through the role of local governments essential for the sustainability of this policy (Rosser & Joshi, 2013).
In addition to the Central Government, local governments must strive for services education to realize national education goals by referring to the achievement of national standards.Education at the elementary school and junior high school levels is the authority of the city/district government.It is a mandatory government affair related to essential services (Law Number 23 of 2015 concerning Regional Government), so some regions support the free education policy by providing Regional School Operational Assistance funds (BOSDA).Education policy by local governments is more likely to be on policies that directly impact the community's positive response, such as the free education policy.This can be seen from the implementation in various regions, including Probolinggo City.The free education policy is one of the missions of regional heads.This policy is not only for political purposes but rather to support the realization of national education goals.This refers to the Regulation of the Mayor of Probolinggo Number 148 of 2018 concerning Technical Guidelines for providing Operational Assistance.The amount of BOSDA funds for public and private education units is different, and policies related to education financing are also different.The cost of education in the public education unit is free, but parental donations are allowed in the private education unit.A free education policy for all should provide extra costs for better staffing ratios and facilities and improve school management, abolishing corporal punishment until the immediate identification of specific problems found in schools (Trowler, 2003).

Quality of learning
The quality of education is a multi-dimensional concept with different components.Some researchers pointed out that quality is fulfilling customer needs, continuous improvement, recognition and appreciation, leadership, teamwork, and problem-solving measurement.Quality education is necessary for all nations' sustainable economic development (Thangdea et al., 2016).Therefore, access to educational services is not enough but must be accompanied by achieving quality education.However, the quality of education an institution provides may vary depending on several factors, namely the teaching or learning system, the programs provided, the quality of teachers, and the learning environment provided (Commission, 2014).This article defines quality as 'fitness for purpose (Akareem & Hossain, 2016).Meanwhile, learning is the process by which a relatively stable modification in stimulus-response relations is developed as a consequence of functional environmental interaction via the senses (Teixeira-Dias et al., 2005).Thus, the quality of learning can be defined as a code that describes the learning process taking place in a superior, adequate manner and providing benefits for the development of the entire potential of the learner so that there is a change in the effectiveness of the stimuli that cause it.Learning quality is seen in learning outcomes, processes, and input (Ghufron & Hardiyanto, 2017).
The educational institution is a holistic, interactive system; its management has many procedures and functional uses to determine its teaching and assessment procedures, affecting students' perception of what and how they will learn (Biggs, 1996).Referring to a simple approach that groups quality consists of 1) quality assurance which includes accountability, auditing and assessment, quality control and people who control quality; 2) quality improvement is seen as related to empowerment, enthusiasm, expertise, and excellence.Quality improvement aims to improve the overall quality of teaching.In practice, it often pushes teachers towards more qualified and innovative practices and hopes to have a knock-on or trickle-down effect (Elton, 1992).There is a possibility that the teaching and learning process can be improved by diverting resources towards quality improvement (Kember, 2000).

Equitable access to primary education services
The concept of equality or equality, according to (Coleman, 1968), means several things, namely: providing free education to a certain degree which is the main entry point for the labour force; providing a general curriculum for all children, regardless of their background; providing the same school for children with different field backgrounds; and providing equality in affection, since local taxes provide a source of support for the school.The concept is the basis of equality or equality programs in improving the quality of education.The national strategy in developing children of primary school age sets out the ambition to expand the care and education of children to reach all regions and communities and, in this case, improve equality by reaching remote areas, villages, and border areas.The World Health Organization (WHO, 2017) emphasizes that equality is the absence of avoidable or correctable differences among groups of people, whether the group is defined socially, economically, demographically, or geographically.Based on government figures, the cost of expanding the care and education of primary school-aged children will require almost double the expenditure from 2010 to 2015 (Bank, 2015).In line with the government's commitment to equality, concerted efforts are needed to improve access further and offer more and better opportunities to communities where participation in primary education is low.Indonesia needs to start by expanding access to early childhood education and improving quality through nationally endorsed standards, stronger provider licensing, and developing a cadre of supervisory specialists for this level of education.Increased participation in upper secondary education is critical for Indonesia: less than a third of Indonesians currently complete secondary education.This increase in proportion necessitates increasing its relevance to the student's life, work, and further learning prospects.
The targets set in the broad global goals will not only serve as a guide towards progress relative to educational outcomes but also facilitate social and economic development that is sustainable for the state and society by helping underprivileged people in the field of education (Arkorful et al., 2019).Regarding education, equality as inclusion means ensuring all children achieve a minimum basic skill level (Udu et al., 2017).Equality as justice implies that personal circumstances or social economics, such as gender, ethnic origin, or family background should not be barriers to educational success (OECD, 2012).The three principles of justice, according to (Jones, 2009), include a) an equal chance of life; there should be no difference in outcomes based on factors that cannot be asked for the accountability of persons; b) the same concern for the needs of people, some goods, and services; c) meritocracy, position in society and appreciation should reflect differences in differences in efforts and abilities based on healthy competition.Improving access to primary education will not require a curb approach or a single approach but rather a strategy oriented towards results and efficiency gradually and carefully involving the active participation of stakeholders (Arkorful et al., 2019).

The relationship between free education policy, quality of learning and equitable access
Free education policy can improve equitable access to education services and improve elementary school learning quality.According to Usman et al. (2022), the free education policy can prepare quality human resources in skills and scientific insight and realize the national ideals of the Indonesian nation, namely participating in educating the nation's life.
The free education policy in elementary schools influences two dominant factors in equitable access to primary education services.School service level factors include policies related to school age, gender equality, inclusive education, transportation availability, and social status.Meanwhile, several important factors increase the number of school transitions which also have a positive influence on equitable access to primary education services is the availability of school buildings, educational needs, information networks, and supporting factors, including opportunity costs, a radius of school location, and school quality, cultural aspects (Mosora & Mosora, 2013;Nevy, 2015;Suryadarma et al., 2006).Therefore, free education policies need to pay attention to several policies for equitable access to education services, including school age limits for increasing pure participation rates, gender equality and justice, implementation of inclusive education, facilitation of transportation availability, education regardless of social status, ensuring the availability of school buildings, strengthening awareness of educational needs, ease of access to information, transparent governance systems and accountable, availability of cheap and representative education (Sanda & Gistituati, 2023;Sulaiman, 2017).
Related to improving the quality of learning in elementary schools, free education contributes directly to 1) improving teacher competence, 2) development of a globally competitive curriculum, 3) curriculum development with faith-based character education, 4) local content of language and culture, 4) varied learning centred on students, 5) Availability of relevant, comprehensive and competitive teaching materials, and 6) feasibility and comfort of learning facilities (Muzakkir, 2017).In addition, implementing an education accessibility policy is still the main agenda the government must complete immediately.This accessibility has linearity with the problem of education equity, and the problem of education equity will impact the quality of learning and school quality (Anwar, 2022).

Hypothesis development
Regarding the free school policy, people can get an education, but not a competitive one.To increase access for people with poor backgrounds to receive education, improving primary and secondary schools in public schools is not only a matter of quantity but also very important to improve quality (Arends-Kuenning & Vieira, 2015; Rahman & Nasihin, 2020).Regarding the effect of free education policies on access to education, the results show that implementing free education policies can increase student enrollment (Chatterjee, 2018;Shang'wet, 2020).The free school program in South Sumatra Province began in 2009 and has increased access to educational services (Marzuki, 2011).Based on this discussion, the following is hypothesized: H1: There is a relationship between free education policy and access to education.
The results showed that implementing the free education policy includes increased student enrollment, reduced dropouts and skipping students, increased demands for funding for school functions, inadequate teaching and learning materials, and parental involvement in school social and economic activities (Shang'wet, 2020).Research in Junior Secondary Schools in Tanzania shows that free-of-charge education policies directly impact lower secondary education, where free education policies affect poor academic performance for students (Lyanga & Chen, 2020).Studies in Papua New Guinea also state that the main purpose of implementing a free education policy is for the quality of education (Honga, 2020).Policy reforms resulted in a net increase of about 0.7 school years.Further evidence suggests that additional enrollment also led to an increase in literacy.Specifically, the reform of the abolition of tuition fees also increased literacy and knowledge (Chicoine, 2019).The impact of the free education policy is teacher performance, student learning motivation and academic achievement in the good category (Ruswati & Munadi, 2013).Considering the literature outlined here, the following hypothesis is proposed: H2: There is a relationship between free education policy and the quality of learning.
Improving the quality of learning or education is closely related to equitable access to education.From an educational perspective, the problem of low-quality of learning because of limited access to education from the poor (Suryana, 2020).The study's results also show that access to primary education has increased through the free education policy, but there is a movement or transfer of students between schools.Transfers are more common in slums than in non-slums, they benefit private schools, and quality is the main motivation for transfers (Oketch et al., 2011).The results showed that equal access to education is important for all students to achieve quality education to help expand students' potential (Sahek & Nasri, 2019).Thus, the hypotheses that can be proposed is: H3: There is a relationship between access to education and the quality of learning.

Organizational effectiveness theory
The degree to which an organization can use its resources effectively and achieve its stated goals is referred to as organizational effectiveness.Indicators like inputs, outputs, and outcomes are used to gauge an organization's effectiveness.The input criteria assess performance by emphasizing team member knowledge, abilities, organizational structures, and efforts.Input indicators further emphasize a company's ability to achieve its stated objectives.A result that can be quantified is called an output-for instance, monthly sales and profit.Sales and profits can be used to calculate an organization's outputs.This hypothesis explores teachers' perceptions of the input, output, and outcome difficulties they experience when instructing primary school students under the free education program.One of the study's variables, teaching-based difficulties, was built using the assumptions of this theory.The facilities and tools used for instruction, such as books and classrooms, are input-based difficulties.A challenge's output is determined by how many students pass the customary seven exams.Outcome-based difficulties are connected to the calibre of students generated by the existing free-education program (Doriye et al., 2020;Hall, 1980).

Research design
This study uses quantitative methods that play a role in obtaining measurable data.It is ex-post facto because the problem under study is an event that has occurred with this type of survey research whose sample data is taken from the study population (Cohen et al., 2007).The exogenous variables in this study are the implementation of free education policies with endogenous variables, including equitable access to educational services and improving the quality of learning.This research was carried out on all state Elementary and state Junior High Schools in Probolinggo City, Indonesia.

Population and samples
This research was conducted in Probolinggo District, East Java, Indonesia because of all cities or regencies in Indonesia categorized as affirmation cities or districts, Probolinggo City received the most extensive free education funds, namely 800 thousand/elementary school students/year and 1 million/junior high school students/year (Ministry of Education and Culture, 2021).Probolinggo City faces a challenge with varying funds for free education.Additionally, the Gross Participation Rate (APK) and Pure Participation Rate (APM) at the elementary and junior high school levels are lower compared to other cities/regencies in East Java Province and Indonesia in 2019 and 2020.Despite the BOSDA funds provided by the Probolinggo City Government to support the implementation of free education policies, evaluations conducted by the government found that the aid was not effective and efficient, despite meeting adequacy, responsiveness and levelling standards.This is the primary reason why the study was conducted in Probolinggo District.
Data collection through research samples was taken from an undetermined or unpredictable population.A proportional random sampling technique carried out a sampling from the study population because samples from members of the population were taken randomly regardless of the strata in the population.The number of samples was determined using the Isaac and Michael formula with N = ∞ and an error rate of 10% (Sugiyono, 2019), so the number of samples was obtained by 272, which included community leaders 32 (7%), committee 51 (16.5%), teacher 91 (36.5%) and principal 98 (40%).Data was collected by distributing questionnaires to 272 education actors in elementary and junior high schools in Probolinggo City.
Quality of learning is measured through 26 items consisting of four sub-scales, including teacher competence, curriculum development, teaching materials and learning facilities.The 5-point Likert scale measures items ranging from strongly disagreeing (1) to strongly agreeing (5).This scale was developed based on sub-scales from the Ministry of Education and Culture (2011).
Free education policy is measured using 20 items consisting of four sub-scales: 1) communication, 2) supporting resources, 3) disposition and 4) organizational structure.The 5-point Likert scale measures items ranging from strongly disagreeing (1) to strongly agreeing (5).This scale was developed based on sub-scales from Edward (1980) and Widodo (2021).All the variables and research indicators are presented in the appendix.

Data collection
The data collection technique in this study was a survey using a questionnaire.The instrument used is a closed questionnaire, where respondents only answer according to the answer choices available in the questionnaire.The questionnaire used in this study was prepared based on the results of the indicators of each of the research variables that have been determined.The closed questionnaire in this study used a rating scale consisting of five answer choice columns.
The data for this study was collected using a questionnaire survey.Before the questionnaire is distributed, respondents are invited to explain the purpose of the study and the operational definition of variables and indicators.This is done to avoid the occurrence of bias from respondents.The invited respondents were principals, school committees, community leaders, school treasurer and teachers totalling 272 respondents in the Hall of the Education and Culture Office, Probolinggo City.Online questionnaires (google forms) are distributed via WhatsApp to all respondents when meeting face-to-face.

Data analysis
In describing the results of this study using the help of the IBM SPSS 25 for Windows program.The frequency description uses the stanfive formula (Wiyono & Sunarni, 2009).The study used Standardized Loading Factor (SLF) to interpret the study results.The estimated value is > 0.50 or SLF > 0.70 as the critical limit (Wijianto, 2008).If any SLF value is less than the critical limit, the observed variable can be written off from the model.Data analysis uses SEM to model and estimate complex relationships between multiple dependent and independent variables (Dami et al., 2022;Iacobucci et al., 2007).The concept under consideration highlights various indicators that cannot be observed and measured directly.Next, test the measurement model by analyzing the confirmation factor to test the validity and reliability of the latent variable.The next stage tests the structure of the model and assesses the overall fit of the model with reference to Goodness of Fit (GoF).

Frequency distribution
The free education policy implementation variable is measured by 20 valid items, and the results of data analysis show a score: maximum = 100; minimum = 40; mean = 85.63; and standard deviation = 8.814.The results of the data analysis with the stanfive formula obtained showed the mean value of the free education policy implementation variable of 85.63, at an interval of 81.223-90.037.So, it can be known that the implementation of the free education policy in Probolinggo City is included in the category of quite good.
The variable of equalization of access to primary education services is measured by 21 valid items, and the results of data analysis show scores: maximum = 105; minimum = 70; mean = 90.78;and standard deviation = 7.617.The results of the data analysis with the stanfive formula obtained showed the mean value of the variable for equitable access to primary education services of 90.78, which was located at an interval of 86.97-94.57.So, it can be known that equitable access to primary education services in Probolinggo City is included in the category of quite good.
The learning quality improvement variable was measured by 26 valid items and the results of data analysis showed scores: maximum = 130; minimum = 98; mean = 114.78;and standard deviation = 9.609.The results of the data analysis with the stanfive formula obtained showed the mean value of the learning quality improvement variable of 114.78, which was located at an interval of 109.96-119.57.So, it can be known that the quality of learning in Probolinggo City is considered quite good.A detailed explanation of frequency distribution is illustrated in Table 2.

Confirmatory factor analysis
The results of the analysis of the three variables confirmatory factors along with the dominant indicators that make up the research construct are presented in Table 3.
Based on the table above, it is known that the value of each indicator has met the acceptance criteria, namely ≥ 0.50, except for the TPS1 indicator 0.18 < 0.50 and TPS2 17 < 0.50 with a Critical Ratio (c.r.) value < 2.0., so it can be said that the TPS1 and TPS2 indicators are significantly unable to explain the latent variable, namely the equitable distribution of access to educational services.Therefore, reconfirmatory factor analysis is necessary by discarding the problematic indicators.The results of the re-confirmatory factor analysis can be seen in Figure 1.
A summary of the results of the analysis and interpretation of the validity and reliability of variables implementation of free education policies, equitable access to educational services, and improvement of the quality of learning after modification is presented in Tables 4, 5, and Table 6.
The analysis results show that the loading factor of each indicator that dominates each research variable meets the acceptance criteria > 0.50.So, it can be concluded that each of the indicators that dominate each research variable is a valid indicator in explaining the construct of research variables.

Structural model evaluation
Based on the measurement model, using the help of the IBM SPSS Amos 26 program obtained a path diagram that visualizes the structural model built in Figure 2.
The above structural model shows the value of goodness of fit that has not met the admission criteria.So, it is necessary to modify it to obtain a value by the reference value of the structural model equation.The above model was modified following modification indices and was carried out several times to achieve a fit measurement model.The final model produced after several modifications is presented in Figure 3.
Based on the structural tests of the post-modification model, it can be seen that the chi-square value is lower than the previous one, and the probability value; RMSEA; AGFI; NFI; GFI; RFI; IFI; TLI and CFI are in accordance with the admission criteria as in Tables 7 and 8.
Based on the results of a statistical analysis of goodness of fit in Table 8, the seven criteria used to assess GFI; RMSE; NFI; AGFI; RFI; IFI; TLI and CFI indicate that the model used is acceptable.So, it can be concluded that there is a good match between the empirical data and the estimated model.The results show that empirical data support the causal relationship model built on theoretical studies.

Hypothesis testing
The proposed hypothesis is tested by calculating the standard regression coefficient.The results of estimating the parameters of the structural model are shown in Tables 9 and 10.Hypothesis testing was carried out by looking at the Critical Ratio (CR) value > 1.96 with a probability of < 0.05.The AMOS output in Table 9 shows that 1) Nilai C.R., the policy ← access was 7.123, l greater than 1.96 and the P-value was less than alpha 0.05.Therefore, it was concluded that the implementation of the free education policy had a direct influence of 68.5% and was significant on the equitable distribution of access to educational services; 2) Nilai C.R. the policy ← quality was 4.619 greater than 1.96, and the P value was less than alpha 0.05.Therefore, it was concluded that the implementation of the free education policy had a direct influence of 29.6% and was significant in improving the quality of learning; 3) the implementation of the free education policy also indirectly influenced 49.8% on improving the quality of learning; 4) Nilai C. R. the access ← quality was 7.879 l greater than 1.96, and the P-value was less than alpha 0.05.Therefore, it was concluded that the implementation of equitable access to education services had a direct effect of 72.7% and was significant in improving the quality of learning.

Discussion
The findings show that implementing free education policies has a positive and significant effect on equitable access to educational services and the quality of learning.The results of this study confirm previous studies (Arends-Kuenning & Vieira, 2015;Chatterjee, 2018;Chicoine, 2019;Honga, 2020, Lyanga & Chen, 2020;Marzuki, 2011Ruswati & Munadi, 2013;Rahman & Nasihin, 2020;Shang'wet, 2020).Regarding the positive relationship between access to education and the    Free education policy played an essential role in successfully increasing access to primary schools by eliminating fees (Burchfield & Kadzamira, 1996).Although it could not achieve all needs, it should be noted that the internal efficiency of this system suggests that the gender gap has narrowed; survival rates have increased for girls and boys; the number of children entering school is more significant; and the absolute number of children expected to complete has also increased considerably (Kadzamira & Rose, 2003).In line with research (Mashala, 2019), since its launch in 2015, the free high school policy has noted some improvement in secondary education.Some of these include increased participation rates and the number of teachers, but schools, on the other hand, are still worrying.The research findings are also supported by research (Alawattegama, 2020) in Sri Lanka that the free education policy realized through the free school uniform program has a significant positive impact in reducing student absenteeism and a huge relief for underprivileged parents.Many students from underprivileged families in Sri Lanka have benefited directly from the program, and the government spends significant funds yearly from foreign exchangers and their regular educational arrangements (Alawattegama, 2020).In addition, the free school textbook program for students has encouraged and motivated students from underprivileged families to attend school and enjoy the benefits of a free education system that can provide evidence that the program's implementation has increased student participation and literacy rates (Alawattegama, 2020).The purpose of the high school fee waiver is to encourage girls to continue schooling because they also have better opportunities (Kadzamira & Rose, 2003).In principle, waiving high school fees should allow those who cannot afford education access to secondary school (Kadzamira & Rose, 2003).Lakshman (2013) affirmed that free education provides "education" at no cost-it provides fair access to every child regardless of demographics, harnessing individual strengths and cultivating good values to become law-abiding citizens.The study's results (Nishimura et al., 2008) show that the free-fee compulsory education policy has significantly improved educational attainment in primary schools.However, schools in Uganda still face further challenges in terms of low internal efficiency and uneven quality of education.The study found a decrease in learning achievement in reading and mathematics, where this decline was most pronounced in urban areas (Athurra, 2016).The previous research results contradict the study's findings, which show that the implementation of free education policies affects improving  the quality of learning and indirectly, the implementation of free education policies has a fairly high influence (49.8%) for enhancing the quality of learning.This is supported by research (Lau et al., 2014) which shows that all principals, along with 58% of teachers and 44% of parents, agree that implementing free education policies improves the quality of primary school education in Macau.Half of the principals and 58% of teachers reported an increase in resources, funding, and development opportunities as a result of the policy and 46% of teachers stated that the policy facilitated a rise in teacher qualifications, and 88% of parents found that the school's vision, curriculum, pedagogical approach, and teacher qualifications were aligned with their beliefs and  expectations.The free education policy for high school teachers in West Sumbawa Regency, overall, teachers had met academic qualifications and educational infrastructure in the high category, which in general, the number of students per classroom has met BNSP standards (Ruswati & Munadi, 2013).
Based on the results of different studies, it can be explained that quality in education has very different meanings for other people.In this connection, the definition of quality in primary education is influenced by constantly changing social and educational circumstances and the inevitable being controversial (Common, 1988).Education is the local, state, and national communities' responsibility to ensure that financial barriers prevent some nations' children from receiving educational opportunities with the best quality of learning.It should be developed in this country that the costs incurred for education are the wisest and healthiest investments for the regional benefit (Gilbert & Heller, 2013).
Education is a sharing effort; in fact, sharing is one way to realize education.To improve learning quality, affordability and flexibility, educational resources, which include learning materials, textbooks, learning videos, and scientific articles, must be openly licensed and shared with the public.Openly licensed resources are publicly funded resources to be used by independent learning learners and teachers to enhance classroom learning that holds several answers to maintain the quality of learning while significantly reducing the cost of education (Wiley et al., 2012)."Soft" measures such as funding, supervision, and professional development throughout the system are policy levers that can support implementation focusing on student learning as a curriculum objective and should inform teaching and assessment (Kennedy, 2011).The education sector that operationalizes the free education policy requires specifically to outline the application of a sector-broad approach to education planning and decentralization of educational services realized through several primary school infrastructure investment programs.The primary school infrastructure investment program involves the construction of new schools in unprecedented areas and the construction of additional classrooms.Investment in school infrastructure must be balanced with implementing healthy school environment management by considering the level of implementation of child-friendly schools, learning atmosphere and school comfort.This is shown by research (Sunandar et al., 2022) that schools that implement child-friendly schools and are supported by a conducive learning atmosphere directly influence school comfort.Because educational success is inseparable from the conditions of the school environment (Sunandar et al., 2022), the school environment significantly influences children's health, learning motivation, and student learning achievement (Saragih et al., 2013).In addition, the implementation of free primary education needs to be balanced with a new curriculum aimed at reducing the workload of students and teachers at the primary and secondary levels (Muricho & Chang'ach, 2013).
The findings show that equitable access to education services has a direct and significant effect on improving the quality of learning.Universal access to quality education, training and learning is an important prerequisite for individual empowerment, equitable community development and the promotion of social justice (United Nations Children 's Fund, 2015).An essential prerequisite is ensuring that inclusive and equitable quality education is for all (Hudson, 2019).Regarding providing equitable access to quality education, it is said that there is a need to consider the epistemic qualities of what students know, understand and can do in schools (Humphreys et al., 2015).Thus, the goal is to develop curriculum principles that maximize students' chances of having epistemic access with high epistemic qualities (Morrow, 2008).
The free education policy has provided more equitable access to all levels of society.However, several factors related to the existence of a free education policy pose a challenge to equitable access to all quality primary and secondary schools.The dominating factors are associated with the feasibility of school infrastructure and maintaining high-quality teachers (Rao et al., 2021).Increased public funding to improve infrastructure, educational resources, teacher professional development priorities, new technologies and partnerships with the private sector are essential to ensure equitable and quality access for all children (Rao et al., 2021).
In its implementation, the free education policy in Probolinggo City has provided greater access to community groups that have been less reaching primary education services even though they are not 100%.The availability of competent and professional educators and education personnel, as well as the completeness of facilities and infrastructure, can be supported by the implementation of the free education policy (BOSDA) through 1) payment of honorary services for educators, services of administrative personnel and services of non-state civil servants by applicable regulations; 2) professional development of teachers and education personnel; 3) library development; 4) maintenance of facilities and infrastructure; and 5) the provision of multi-media learning tools.Although the implementation of education policies can support the availability of competent and professional educators and education personnel and the completeness of school facilities and infrastructure, it has not yet reached the level of being able to optimize.The implementation of the free education policy is slightly less able to optimize the level of school services because there are school programs that cannot be budgeted with the policy, in line with research (Sunandar et al., 2019) which shows that the effectiveness of the use of school facilities in supporting the teaching process in three schools in Batu City is still relatively low.More clearly, the occupancy rate of school buildings and rooms is still in the category of poor; the depreciation value of electronic assets is higher than the value of the supply of goods, and the collection of new books in the libraries of the three schools is also insufficient to support occupancy rates.At the same time, the effectiveness of schools can be achieved by optimizing the use of educational facilities, utilizing learning resources around the school and implementing technologybased learning (Sunandar et al., 2019).
The sundry implementation of a policy also colours the implementation of the free education policy.Among them, there are still inconsistencies in the formulation of policies with their strictures because there are no clear indicators for the formulation of policies.In addition, in each education unit, the disbursement of funds is not always 100% intact in one fiscal year, the nominal determination is often not appropriate, and the disbursement time is often missed.Behind the existing obstacles, implementing the free education policy in Probolinggo city is also supported by competent human resources and an organizational structure or implementing a clear structure involving local institutions.It was explained by Widodo (2021) that clarity requires that the information conveyed is clear and easy to understand to avoid misinterpretation by policy implementers.
Meanwhile, the consistency dimension requires that the information submitted is consistent so as not to cause confusion between policy implementers and related parties.Edward (1980) suggests that even if policies, rules, and provisions have been made clearly and consistently with accurate delivery if policy implementers responsible for implementing the policy lack the resources of human resources, budgets, authorities, information, and facilities) to implement the policy effectively, then the implementation of the policy will not be effective.

Conclusion
The current research examines the effect of free education policies on equitable access to education services and improving the quality of learning in Indonesia.The results showed that the implementation of the free education policy has a direct and significant effect on equitable access to educational services; the implementation of the free education policy has a direct and significant effect on improving the quality of learning; the implementation of the free education policy indirectly affects the improvement of the quality of learning; and the implementation of equitable access to educational services has a direct and significant effect on improving the quality of learning.

Practical implication
Equitable access to education services, the quality of learning in schools, and the implementation of education policies in the City of Probolinggo are in a reasonably good category, indicating that the implementation of the free education policy has indeed increased access to primary schools by eliminating fees and encouraging schools to meet national education standards as mandated in the regulations, either directly or indirectly, legislation has yet to reach the optimization level.This means that periodic and periodic reviews are still needed, which leads to the improvement process in every dimension in the spotlight.The research findings also show that efforts to equal access to primary education services influence improving the quality of learning.
These findings have important implications for the future of free education policy.First, because the government has decided to provide free education, including eliminating school fees and other fees, it must be balanced with the need for school-level funds, including sufficient and timely grants.The government must provide all the necessary support, funds, and qualified teachers and ensure a conducive learning environment for students to reduce dropouts and improve student performance.Second, active communication and the intensity of socialization are very important for the Government, the Education Office, schools, and the community.The definition of free education and the perception of policy substance between policy implementers and policy recipients must be the same and clear so that they no longer cause protracted misunderstandings.

Recommendation
This study recommends that the design of this free education policy should be in coordination with the top management team; socialized with the school management team clearly and straightforwardly; must be based on updated data on the number of students from schools; the existence of monitoring and evaluation; and the existence of a service platform and handling of public complaints.Shared responsibility in carrying out the guidelines according to the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia that every citizen has the right to education so that ideally, free education does not leave the quality of education but should improve the quality of learning.Through the availability of school operational funds, school operational costs that the BOS Fund cannot fund can be accommodated by the BOSDA Fund, so there must be a review of the use of BOSDA funds to support the BOS fund.

Equitable Access
No.
Item Dimension

1.
Literacy rate indicates an influence on primary school participation School participation rates 2.
The level of education of parents determines the level of participation of parents in sending their children to school Teaching materials allow students to learn basic competencies systematically so that they are accumulatively able to master all competencies as a whole and integrated

19.
The material in the curriculum system includes all activities and experiences developed and compiled to achieve educational goals 20.
The preparation of teaching materials must be relevant to the existing reality of life (Continued)

Figure
Figure 1.Research variable CFA results.The results of the reconfirmatory factor analysis.It is necessary to conduct a reconfirmatory factor analysis by discarding the problematic indicators of free education policy, equitable access and quality of learning.

Figure 2 .
Figure 2. Structural test of the model.Structural test results of the effect of free education policies on equitable access to education services and the quality of learning in Indonesia.

Figure 3 .
Figure 3. Structural test of the model after modification.Structural test results modified the effect of the free education policy on equitable access to education services and the quality of learning in Indonesia.

Table 4 . Summary of CFA results on the implementation of the free education policy
Sahek and Nasri (2019)he results of this study are in line with research fromOketch et al. (2011),Suryana (2020), andSahek and Nasri (2019).