4/23/2020 Education will fortify Indonesia’s future - OECD Education and Skills Today

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Education will fortify Indonesia’s future

OECD Education and Skills Today / March 25, 2015 /

Education will fortify Indonesia’s future

by Andreas Schleicher
Director, Directorate for Education and Skills

In a crowded and scorching school yard, little Jabal, whose

bony arms protrude from his yellow t-shirt, sits by himself.
 Nearby, in a cloud of sand dust, his classmates are
laughing and running around playing football. Teacher is
late again today and Jabal looks downhearted.  When asked
“what’s-up?” he slowly explains that he is worried. “Why?”

Watching the scene from his o ce, the school principal is

pensive. He knows Jabal’s family and their story. How they
came to his city school from the rural region of Banten.
 How he enjoys coming to school and learning to read. How bright he is at maths. He also knows that
time is running out for Jabal. That if he doesn’t get the teaching he needs to support him to reach his
potential, he will probably leave school early (for a dead-end job in the nearby factory) and never ful l
his dream of becoming a manager in a haulage company.

The Indonesian education system is immense and diverse. It re ects aspects of its past, with a diverse
ethnic and religious heritage, and a struggle for national identity. It has grown rapidly but access to
good quality education is uneven. Over 50% of Indonesian 15 year olds don’t master basic skills in
reading and maths.

The progress that has been made over the past decades in the economy has already pulled millions
out of poverty. This has been done by encouraging and supporting education, health care and shifting
actively to sectors like manufacturing. Nevertheless, much more needs to be done. Indonesia
currently has 43% of its 250 million population under the age of 25 years old. What an opportunity this

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4/23/2020 Education will fortify Indonesia’s future - OECD Education and Skills Today

is, to be able to work now with these young people to advance their skills and learning. By investing in
its human resources, Indonesia can propel growth further, which would permit better living and health
conditions for citizens, as well as allowing the potential for added economic and social improvements.

Teachers have a critical role to play in the transformation process of the education system. Likewise,
they need more support  to improve their professional abilities, and become more accountable for the
results of students, as highlighted in this new OECD and Asian Development Bank (ADB) book:
Education in Indonesia: Rising to the Challenge. In addition, more improvements are needed to the
quality of education and skills training given to youth, along with a widening of the numbers that can
participate in it, fundamentally so that all regions and social groups can bene t from it.
Unquestionably, all youth deserve an equal chance to progress in their learning and to be able to reach
higher levels of education. So the Indonesian government has made universal senior secondary
education a priority in its 2015-2019 development plan.

Sadly, Jabal’s story is very similar to millions of others from all across the globe. On the other hand,
what makes his story special is that now he can have hope. Because he is lucky enough to be living in
Indonesia, where the government is committed to implementing structured educational reforms
aimed at giving all youth equal opportunities to learn. Quality education enables social and economic
progress, it will improve Jabal’s life and enable a more stable and happy future for him, and for all
Indonesian citizens.

Links:
OECD Economic Surveys: Indonesia
OECD data on Indonesia 
OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS)
Skills Strategy OECD
Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) 
OECD Policy Reviews of Vocational Education and Training (VET)
Centre for Educational Research and Innovation (CERI)
Photo credit: Dieng Plateau, Java, Indonesia – Sept 15, 2012 / @Shutterstock

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