Submitted by sep_admin on Tue, 2019-12-10 11:52
Over the past 15 years, Indonesia has implemented major policy reforms to improve education. These include a constitutional mandate to allocate 20 percent of the national budget to education, decentralizing some functions of the education sector to the district and school level, and implementing the 2005 Teacher Law. The government has also increased resources to schools with the School Operational Assistance Grant (Bantuan Operasional Sekolah) Program and supported parents enrolling their children in schools through the Smart Indonesia Program (Program Indonesia Pintar). Through these reforms, Indonesia’s education expenditures have increased significantly. By 2015, the national budget for education was greater than any other sector, approximately meeting the 20 percent target of total government expenditure. However, since the national budget is 15 percent of GDP, this education expenditure is only 3 percent of GDP, one of the lowest in the region. While the reach of Indonesia’s education system has increased, major implementation challenges persist. Between 2001 and 2017, enrolment increased by 23 percent, or 10 million students, accompanied by only a modest increase in quality. The country’s Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) scores rose during this period, but the 2015 results indicated that 55 percent of 15-year old students are functionally illiterate. To ensure all children have access to quality education, Indonesia will need to take action to improve teaching and learning environments, school management, and coordination across levels of government. As noted in the World Development Report 2018, improving education will help equip children with the skills they need for the changing job market, reduce poverty, improve health outcomes, boost economic growth and promote stability.