Submitted by sep_admin on Thu, 2017-02-16 22:15
Indonesia has made notable progress in raising attainment levels in primary and secondary school. This progress at primary and secondary school creates more demand for tertiary education (TE). Wages for those with TE are high and have remained so even as more and more workers enter the labor market with at least some TE. TE is a good investment in Indonesia, even when one attends a TE institution (TEI) of perceived low quality. The government should seek to formulate and implement policies that can raise skill levels and relevance before labor markets get saturated with workers with current skill levels and before returns decline. This policy note seeks to change the perspective of the policy debate toward the needs of aspiring and actual TE students. It intends to use a new lens to view the adequacy of TE policy. It starts from the assumption that TE policy should seek to create relevant, affordable opportunities for all high school graduates. It endeavors to pay as much attention to the people being left out of TE unfairly as to the experiences of those who already attend TEIs. The paper concludes that TE is a good investment for individuals and for the economy as a whole.