Information about current national educational system
Indonesia is the fourth most populous country in the world and is also the largest archipelago on the globe (2017, World Bank). About 87 percent of Indonesia’s population is Muslim, making Indonesia the largest majority Muslim country in the world. Some 10 percent of the population identify as Christians and about 1.7 percent as Hindus. Indonesia’s cultural and regional diversity is as vast as the number of its islands. Despite these marked differences, Indonesia is viewed as having a promising economic future in the 21st century.
Indonesia had declared its independence from the Netherlands on 17 August 1945. Four years after Indonesia’s independence, the aim of Indonesian early-stage education is to introduce Indonesian language as a language used in education. A year later, in 1950, the educational policy developed into a 6 years’ period of compulsory education. In 1994, the compulsory education program was developed further for 9 years, which includes six years in primary school and three years in junior high school. The education system in Indonesia has been rooted in the culture of Indonesia based on Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution. In Act No. 2 of 1989, the national education system aims to produce capability and improve the standard of living and the dignity of the people of Indonesia to achieve the goal of national development.
Indonesia’s status is as a developing country, which is difficult to regulate and is still marked by various socio-economic problems. To overcome its economic problems, Indonesia needs to improve and develop quality in various sectors, one of which is to improve the quality of education and skills of the population. As of now, Indonesia struggles to provide inclusive, high-quality education to its citizens. The country has much lower literacy levels than those of other Southeast Asian nations. Tertiary attainment levels are very low, such as the percentage of Indonesians over the age of 25 that had attained a bachelor’s degree in 2016 was just under 9 percent, the lowest of Southeast Asian nations. Since the mid-2000s, Indonesia has implemented a broad range of education reforms, however, remains well below recommended levels for emerging economies (at 3.6 percent of GDP in 2015).
The character of Indonesia’s educational system reflects its diverse ethnic and religious heritage, its struggle for a national identity, and the challenge of resource allocation in a developing archipelago nation with a young and rapidly growing population. Although a key government goal is to provide every Indonesian with at least nine years of basic education, the aim of universal education has not been reached. In 1973 the government issued an order to set aside portions of oil revenues for the construction of new primary schools. This act resulted in the construction or repair of nearly 40,000 primary schools by the late 1980s, a move that greatly facilitated the goal of universal education.
The Indonesian education system is immense and diverse. With over 60 million students and almost 4 million teachers in some 340 000 educational institutions, it is the third largest education system in the Asia region and the fourth largest in the world (behind only the People’s Republic of China, India and the United States). The education system in Indonesia under the Minister for Research and Technology and Higher Education, the ministry of education and culture as well as the Ministry of Religious Affairs. The Ministry for Research and Technology and Higher Education is responsible for the Higher Education system in Indonesia, while the Ministry of Education and Culture is responsible for 84% Primary and Secondary school, and the Ministry of Religious Affairs (MORA) oversees the 16% Islamic Primary and Secondary school.
The development of Indonesia’s education system today continues to reflect aspects of its past as mentioned above. Before the modern education system was introduced by the Dutch, the pesantren was the only educational institution available in Indonesia. The current structure of Indonesia’s educational system presents an interdependent series of cycles (Primary school, SMP, SMA/SMK/STM, College) which needs to accommodate the needs of a very diverse population, geographically, socio-economic status and opportunities.
Socio-political context & implications for teaching/educational policy
In contrast to the colonial period, during the Orde Lama and Orde Baru period, the teaching profession is arguably classified as “a second-class profession” (Sudarwan Danim, 2010). During the Orde Lama period, the profile and identity of the teaching profession in the eyes of society, especially among academics and the world of labor, is beginning to change now. The recognition of the teaching profession as a professional job increasingly strong since the adoption of the Presidential Decree No. 87/1999 on the Functional Groups of Civil Servants (PNS); The law (UU) Number 20/2003 on the National Education System; UU Number 14/2005 on Teachers and Lecturers; Government regulations (PP) No. 74/2008 on Teacher; Regulation of the Minister of State for Administrative Reform and Bureaucratic Reform No. 16/2009 on Teachers Functional Position and Credit Figures; and the Joint Regulation of the minister and the head of BKN Number 03/V/NT/ 2010, Number 14 Year 2010 on Implementation Guidelines Teachers Functional Position and Credit Figures.
The Ministry of Education’s strategic plans or RENSTRA (Rencana Strategis) for the periods 2005-2009 and 2010-2014 have consistently focused on three main pillars: 1) increasing access to education; 2) improving the quality of teaching and learning; and 3) strengthening governance, management and accountability. Law 14 of 2005 on Teachers and Lecturers increased the minimum teacher academic qualification from D2 (two years’ education after completion of senior secondary education) to an academic bachelor’s degree (S1) or D4, a four-year diploma. It also requires teachers to have successfully completed the certification process and that all teachers must meet this requirement by 2015. Further, the law sets minimum competency standards in the areas of professionalism, pedagogy, social skills and personal behavior. The law not only specifies what teachers should be able to do and how to behave, but also addresses the issue of teacher welfare by introducing a set of new professional allowances for teachers who have successfully completed the teacher certification process and for those who work in remote areas.
The Director General of Teachers and Education Personnel, Ministry of Education and Culture, reported that in Indonesia, the number of teachers that are recorded in the ministry are 3,015,315 teachers. Of that amount, a total of 2,294,191 teachers are civil servants and Foundation’s Permanent Teachers (GTY= Guru Tetap Yayasan) and as many as 721,124 teachers cannot be certified because of the Temporary Teacher’s Status (GTT= Guru Tidak Tetap). The teachers who are civil servants, and the GTY, who already certified after 2005 are 547,154 people, through the PPG programs (Pendidikan Profesi Guru) funded by the teachers themselves or the affirmation of government programs. Meanwhile, the number of teachers that have been certified before 2005 was around 1,580,267 teachers. The rest, which previously has not been certified are 166,770 teachers. By 2015 there were 94,688 teachers who have been certified and in 2016 there are 72,082 teachers are taking college program. If they could graduate in 2016, they will follow the certification through the PLPG (Pendidikan dan Latihan Profesi Guru) program.
In the previous strategic planning period, educational activities focused on improving teaching and learning, but in the 2015-2019 RENSTRA, it was to increase human resources who can compete at the regional level. The focus of the 2015-2019 RENSTRA is to improve human resources that can compete at the regional level, where this focus is different from the previous one, in which the development of education is focused on improving teaching and learning. This means that the output of educational development is focused on human resources and the launch of education funds for Indonesian citizens in marginal areas in terms of geographic environment and economic conditions, through various programs such as the Smart Indonesia Program (PIP=Program Indonesia Pintar), Revitalization of Vocational Education and Skills, and Strengthening Character Education (PPK= Penguatan Pendidikan Karakter). The results of the strategic plan of the Ministry of Education and Culture during the period of 2015-2019 show an increase in the expansion of access to education for all citizens, equalizing the quality of education, increasing the relevance of graduates, and advancing the governance of Indonesian culture and language. The RENSTRA’s achievements include a certified teacher addition program. This program is considered still related to the quality and relevance of graduates (output). The program is based on Government Regulation Number 19 of 2017, concerning Amendments to Government Regulation Number 74 of 2008 concerning Teachers, where the pattern of teacher certification in positions is changed to Professional Teacher Education (PPG). This pattern of certification takes longer and requires higher unit costs. The implementation of PPG involves Educational Personnel Education Institute, LPTK (Lembaga Pendidikan Tenaga Kependidikan) and is accompanied by the National Written Test (UTN:Ujian Tulis Nasional), it is hoped that teacher professionalism can be more guaranteed. The Smart Indonesia Program (PIP: Program Indonesia Pintar), is the government’s flagship program, which provides educational cash assistance to Elementary School, Junior High School, and Senior High School/Vocational High School students in poor or vulnerable families to finance their education. Financial assistance is a form of service to be able to access education until completing secondary education. Increasing the relevance of graduates, cannot be separated from improving the quality of learning, and revitalizing Vocational High Schools (SMK=Sekolah Menengah Kejuruan), in accordance with Presidential Instruction Number 9 of 2016. The graduates produced are expected to be of high quality and relevant to the business world or industry.
Entering the RENSTRA period (2020-2024), the Ministry of Education and Culture again manages the higher education sector, which focuses on making Indonesian people independent who can compete at the international level. RENSTRA plan focuses more on strengthening the nation’s character education. Based on Presidential Regulation Number 87 of 2017 concerning strengthening character education, it is a guide for the Ministry of Education and Culture in carrying out character education strengthening programs (PPK: Penguatan Pendidikan Karakter) in schools and families/communities. Human resource development under the authority of the Ministry of Education and Culture will consider global trends related to rapid technological advances, socio-cultural shifts, environmental changes, and differences in the world of work in the future. Rapid technological advances, driving the Industrial Revolution 4.0 along with the accompanying breakthroughs affect all sectors of life. Socio-culturally, technological advances have caused a shift in the demographics and socio-economic profile of the world’s population.
The direction of policies and strategies for education and culture in the period 2020-2024 through the Free Learning Policy (KMB=Kebijakan Merdeka Belajar), is expected to be able to provide high-quality education for all Indonesian people, with quality learning outcomes, and equitable quality education both geographically and socio-economic status. KMB involves participation and support from all stakeholders, such as families, teachers, educational institutions, the world of work/industry, and the community. Teachers must adapt to the achievements of the RENSTRA for the 2020-2024 period and be able to compete at the international level. The paradigm shift in the teacher’s teaching role as a transmitter of information must change. The teacher must act as a facilitator in learning activities. Thus, the teacher is in control of the implementation of teaching and learning activities in their respective classrooms.
Current trends in educational policy and practice (e.g. relevant curricular reform cycles) & regional difference
The aim of Indonesia’s national education in the preamble to the 1945 Constitution is to educate the nation. This means that education must become the concern of the Indonesian people, especially the government as a policymaker and decision-maker in every sphere of education. The World Bank states that the quality of education in Indonesia is still low, even though access to education for the community has increased significantly. In the 2014 Pearson’s global index of cognitive skills and educational attainment, Indonesia ranks 40, which is the last position on the list. This shows just how low classroom teaching quality. Teaching quality is one of the benchmarks determining the success of a learning process. Quality of teaching is related to the effectivity of teachers’ teaching behaviours in the classroom. The low quality of Indonesian education is reflected in the 2013 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), where Indonesia is ranked 64th out of 65 countries. The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) survey in 2011 in the field of science in Indonesia ranked 40th out of 42 countries. Illiteracy cases in Indonesia are ranked 108th in the world with a score of 0.603. Illiteracy cases indicate the low quality of Indonesian education (Fauzie, 2018). In general position, Indonesia is under the state of Palestine, Samoa, and Mongolia. Only 44% of the population managed to complete secondary school education, while as many as 11% of students failed to complete their education or were unable to finish school and quit school (Sahroji, 2017). Indonesia is a developing country, but its educational condition is still below that of Palestine, whose state is at war with other countries. The Indonesian Education Monitoring Network (JPPI= Jaringan Pemantau Pendidikan Indonesia) conducted a Right to Education Index (RTEI) study to measure the fulfillment of the right to education in various countries. JPPI results show that the quality of Indonesian education is below Ethiopia and the Philippines (Rahayu, 2017).
To achieve the educational goals, which are in accordance with Stranas KEMENDIKBUD for the 2020-2024 period is to increase the quality of human resources who are able to compete at the international level, so a curriculum is needed. The curriculum should be strategically arranged and formulated into certain programs. The curriculum should always be updated in line with the changes to keep it relevant to the changing society. The curriculum development should consider various aspects such as child development, the development of science, the development of society’s needs and employment, and so on (Prihantoro 2015). The Indonesian government has introduced a curriculum for all levels of schooling in 2013, as we called the curricula 2013. The content of this curricula is related to human-environment interaction and environmental sustainability but neglects the interrelationships of economic development and environmental sustainability and frames the environment within a creationist, religious worldview. The fast development of an era causes education to face a daunting challenge, especially in efforts to prepare the human resources that are able to compete in regional and the global era. It’s the goal of the RENSTRA KEMENDIKBUD period 2015-2019 and the period 2020-2024. All levels of education have the duty to prepare the next generation to have good quality. Therefore, the curriculum also needs to be developed according to the needs.
Indonesia’s education development index has increased from year to year. Even Indonesia has claimed that 98% of the population aged 7–12 years attends primary school, with 90% aged 13–15 years attending junior high, and a further 61% aged 16–18 years attending senior high school (BPS, 2014). This is a very great attainment, mainly for a country with such a massive and diverse population dispersed around an archipelago. Considering that Indonesia is a country with such a low economic, education, and literacy starting point. This is achievement extraordinary. The crucial concern is with the quality of the education rather than the quantity (Suryadarma and Jones, 2013). Sebayang (2020) argues that although there is an increase in the number achieved in the field of education, there are obstacles in education policy. Education policy issues focus more on the quality and competence of teachers, which are not on the number of qualified teachers (Kusnandar, 2010). In Indonesia, the number of qualified teachers is still relatively low, where the quality and competence of teachers is one indicator of the quality of education. According to Rahayu (2017) that there are three things whose scores are still low, namely the availability of quality teachers (availability), schools that are not child friendly (acceptability), and education or access for marginal groups (adaptability). The availability of qualified teachers is not evenly distributed in the frontier, outermost and remote areas, even though the budget that has been spent or issued by the government for teacher salaries is not proportional to the availability of the number of qualified teachers. This reason is the cause of the low teacher quality score, in PISA. The low distribution of quality teachers is the impact of the lack of equitable distribution and improvement of teacher understanding of the impact of new policies on education regulations (Sebayang. 2020).
Generally, in secondary high schools and vocational high schools are under the supervision of the Ministry of Education and Culture. Islamic senior high schools (MA) use the same curricula and have the same national examinations as non-religious schools for secular subjects, but 30% of their curriculum consists of Islamic subjects and they are under supervision the Ministry of Religion (Jackson and Parker 2008). In Indonesia, there have been the national curricula since Independence in 1945, where the name of the curriculum is according to its purpose. Different regimes at different times have had their different emphases, but the twin objectives of national unity and good citizenship have been constant for the education system (Raihani 2007; Fearnley-Sander and Yulaelawati 2008). The 2013 Curriculum is the second major curriculum change since the downfall of the authoritarian New Order regime under President Suharto (1966–1998). This 2013 curriculum is a revised competency-based model of curriculum. Concern with Indonesia’s poor performance in international tests like PISA, TIMMS is frequently mentioned in government documents about the 2013 Curriculum. The PISA test assesses students in Reading, Maths and Science, but strangely the Curriculum does not directly address these weaknesses (Parker, 2017).
Implementation of the 2013 curriculum, which is still valid today and is still part of the Ministry of Education and Culture’s Strategic Plan for the 2015-2019 and 2020-2024 periods. The 2013 curriculum must be adaptive to environmental conditions and developments and can accommodate diversity, even during the Covid-19 pandemic. The Ministry of Education and Culture has not targeted any curriculum changes. Some of the reasons that are the basics are that there is currently a pandemic situation when the entire educational community is still unable to carry out optimal learning. The second reason, there are still no results of the evaluation of the achievements of the implementation of the 2013 curriculum, so that the advantages and disadvantages of the curriculum are unknown for students in the country. Nevertheless, the Ministry of Education and Culture in various aspects and levels of education has implemented the Free Learning Policy. In 2021, the Ministry of Education and Culture has a target for the implementation of a simplified curriculum.
Current international examinations (PISA, TIMSS)
Indonesia is ranked 37 out of 40 countries in the world, in the category of educational attainment and in the category of cognitive abilities (Pearson Global Index, 2014). The report of the OECD’s Program for the triennial 2018 PISA report, which measures the ability of 15-year-olds in the three categories shows that Indonesia ranked 73rd in mathematics, 74th in reading and 71st in science out of 79 assessed countries and territories. the rank far below other ASEAN member states. Indonesian students’ mean reading score of 371 in 2018 marks a 21-point decrease from the 2015 score and puts Indonesians far below the OECD average of 487. In mathematics, meanwhile, the study gives Indonesian students a score of 379, a 7-point decrease from 2015, while the mean science score decreased slightly, dropping to 396 points from 403 achieved in 2015. Both scores were also significantly below the OECD average of 489. The PISA findings showed three main drawbacks in Indonesia’s education system the government is a large percentage of students with low achievement, a high percentage of students repeating classes and high absenteeism. The results of the Progress of International Reading and Literacy Study (PRILS) in 2015 showed that the average score of Indonesian students with indicators of science performance, math performance, student engagement, and reading performance was below the OECD average score and classified as low (OECD, 2019). The government must immediately address the problem for improving and to increase Indonesia’s PISA score in 2024. One of ways to address this problem is reform the assessments of student’s academic performance. That is in line with a plan the ministry (Nasional Plan Strategic) and have been announced last December 2020. The Ministry would scrap the national exam in 2021 and replace it with a competency assessment and character survey. The national exam uses local standards, but our new competency assessment uses international standards. Another forth measures is transforming school leadership, improving teacher education, introducing a flexible curriculum that is adjustable to the needs and learning progress of each student. The ministry said that the syllabus and policy are so rigid, it prevents teachers from adjusting the learning material based on the student’s ability.
Based on TIMSS and PISA, Indonesia has been consistently ranked amongst the lowest performing educational systems (Mullis et al., 2016) and was listed well-below the OECD average and the lowest compared to the other four countries (OECD, 2019). The cause of the low quality of education is thought to be due to the low quality of teaching teachers. The study of Andrea et al (2020) show that perceived teacher teaching behaviour was the highest in South Korea and the lowest in Indonesia. Differences in student performance as documented by the international testing studies demand explanations in terms of teaching behaviour. The effectiveness of teaching teachers can be seen from teaching behaviour in the classroom. These behaviours can be used as indicators of teaching quality. Teachers who have good teaching behaviour are teachers who contribute 15%-25% to student achievement (Van de Grift et al, 2014). Study by Maulana et al., 2020, investigated measurement invariance of the International Comparative Analysis of Learning and Teaching (ICALT) showed that the highest quality of teaching behaviour is South Korea while Indonesia indicated the lowest. Based on several research results from ICALT, and Education consultant that the measures offered by the ministry are not ground-breaking to improving Indonesia’s PISA scores. It was not the assessment standard that had to change but rather the qualification of Indonesian teachers. However, so far the plan to improve teachers’ quality remains vague. All stakeholders should share the responsibility to help improve the education. What kind of training? what kind teachers will be produced? and what are standard and outcome of training? have yet detail explanation. There are many factors that contribute to the low quality of education in Indonesia, including the quality of teachers. Most teachers employ a teacher entered approach instead of student-cantered approaches. Other issues including teacher motivation, especially autonomous motivation in relation to teaching quality is very important (Irnidayanti et al., 2020). Teacher selection, and initial teacher training programs are mentioned as factors explaining the low quality of education in Indonesia (de Ree, 2016; Fasih et al., 2018).