The character of Indonesia's educational system reflects its diverse
religious heritage, its struggle for a national identity, and the
challenge of resource allocation in a poor but developing archipelagic
nation with a young and rapidly growing population. Although a draft
constitution stated in 1950 that a key government goal was to provide
every Indonesian with at least six years of primary schooling, the aim
of universal education had not been reached by the late 1980s,
particularly among females--although great improvements had been made.
Obstacles to meeting the government's goal included a high birth rate, a
decline in infant mortality, and a shortage of schools and qualified
teachers. In 1973 Suharto 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 school facilities
by the late 1980s, a move that greatly facilitated the goal of universal
education.
Primary and Secondary Education
Following kindergarten, Indonesians of between seven and twelve years
of age were required to attend six years of primary school in the 1990s.
They could choose between state-run, nonsectarian public schools
supervised by the Department of Education and Culture or private or
semiprivate religious (usually Islamic) schools supervised and financed
by the Department of Religious Affairs. However, although 85 percent of
the Indonesian population was registered as Muslim, according to the
1990 census, less than 15 percent attended religious schools. Enrollment figures were slightly higher for girls
than boys and much higher in Java than the rest of Indonesia.
A central goal of the national education system in the early 1990s
was not merely to impart secular wisdom about the world, but also to
instruct children in the principles of participation in the modern
nation-state, its bureaucracies, and its moral and ideological
foundations. Since 1975, a key feature of the national curriculum--as in
other parts of society--had been instruction in the Pancasila. Children
age six and above learned its five principles--belief in one God,
humanitarianism, national unity, democracy, and social justice--by rote
and were instructed daily to apply the meanings of this key national
symbol to their lives. The alleged communist coup attempt in 1965
provided a vivid image of transgression against the Pancasila. Partly to
prove their rejection of communist ideology, all teachers--like other
members of Indonesian bureaucracy--swore allegiance not only to the
Pancasila, but to the government party of functional groups.
Inside the public school classroom of the early 1990s, a style of
pedagogy prevailed that emphasized rote learning and deference to the
authority of the teacher. Although the youngest children were sometimes
allowed to use the local language, by the third year of primary school
nearly all instruction was conducted in formal Indonesian. Instead of
asking questions of the students, a standard teaching technique was to
narrate a historical event or to describe a mathematical problem,
pausing at key junctures to allow the students to fill in the blanks. By
not responding to individual problems of the students and retaining an
emotionally distanced demeanor, the teacher is said to be sabar
(patient), which is considered admirable behavior.
Nationally, the average class size in primary schools was
approximately twenty-seven, while upper-level classes included between
thirty and forty students. Ninety-two percent of primary school students
graduated, but only about 60 percent of those continued on to junior
high school (ages thirteen through fifteen). Of those who went on to
junior high school, 87 percent also went on to a senior high school
(ages sixteen through eighteen). The national adult literacy rate
remained at about 77 percent in 1991 (84 percent for males and 68
percent for females), keeping Indonesia tied with Brunei for the lowest
literacy among the six member nations of the Association for Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN).
In the early 1990s, after completion of the six-year primary school
program, students could choose among a variety of vocational and
preprofessional junior and senior high schools, each level of which was
three years in duration. There were academic and vocational junior high
schools that could lead to senior-level diplomas. There were also
"domestic science" junior high schools for girls. At the
senior high-school level, there were three-year agricultural,
veterinary, and forestry schools open to students who had graduated from
an academic junior high school. Special schools at the junior and senior
levels taught hotel management, legal clerking, plastic arts, and music.
Teacher training programs were varied, and were gradually upgraded.
For example, in the 1950s anyone completing a teacher training program
at the junior high level could obtain a teacher's certificate. Since the
1970s, however, the teaching profession was restricted to graduates of a
senior high school for teachers in a primary school and to graduates of
a university-level education course for teachers of higher grades.
Remuneration for primary and secondary school teachers compared
favorably with countries such as Malaysia, India, and Thailand.
Student-teacher ratios also compared favorably with most Asian nations
at 25.3 to 1 and 15.3 to 1, respectively, for primary and secondary
schools in the mid-1980s when the averages were 33.1 to 1 and 22.6 to 1
for Asian-Pacific countries.
Islamic Schools
The emphasis on the Pancasila in public schools has been resisted by
some of the Muslim majority. A distinct but vocal minority of these
Muslims prefer to receive their schooling in a pesantren or
residential learning center. Usually in rural areas and under the
direction of a Muslim scholar, pesantren are attended by young
people seeking a detailed understanding of the Quran, the Arabic
language, the sharia, and Muslim traditions and history. Students could
enter and leave the pesantren any time of the year, and the
studies were not organized as a progression of courses leading to
graduation. Although not all pesantren were equally orthodox,
most were and the chief aim was to produce good Muslims.
In order for students to adapt to life in the modern, secular
nation-state, the Muslim-dominated Department of Religious Affairs
advocated the spread of a newer variety of Muslim school, the madrasa.
In the early 1990s, these schools integrated religious subjects from the
pesantren with secular subjects from the Western-style public
education system. The less-than 15 percent of the school-age population
who attended either type of Islamic schools did so because of the
perceived higher quality instruction. However, among Islamic schools, a madrasa
was ranked lower than a pesantren. Despite the widespread
perception in the West of resurgent Islamic orthodoxy in Muslim
countries, the 1980s saw little overall increase in the role of religion
in school curricula in Indonesia.
In general, Indonesia's educational system still faced a shortage of
resources in the 1990s. The shortage of staffing in Indonesia's schools
was no longer as acute as in the 1950s, but serious difficulties
remained, particularly in the areas of teacher salaries, teacher
certification, and finding qualified personnel. Providing textbooks and
other school equipment throughout the farflung archipelago continued to
be a significant problem as well.
Higher Education
Indonesia's institutions of higher education have experienced
dramatic growth since independence. In 1950 there were ten institutions
of higher learning, with a total of 6,500 students. In 1970 there were
450 private and state institutions enrolling 237,000 students, and by
1990 there were 900 institutions with 141,000 teachers and nearly
1,486,000 students. Public institutions enjoyed a considerably better
student-teacher ratio (14 to 1) than private institutions (46 to 1) in
the mid-1980s. Approximately 80 to 90 percent of state university
budgets were financed by government subsidies, although the universities
had considerably more autonomy in curriculum and internal structure than
primary and secondary schools. Whereas tuition in such state
institutions was affordable, faculty salaries were low by international
standards. Still, university salaries were higher than primary and
secondary school salaries. In addition, lecturers often had other jobs
outside the university to supplement their wages.
Private universities were operated by foundations. Unlike state
universities, private institutions had budgets that were almost entirely
tuition driven. Each student negotiated a one-time registration
fee--which could be quite high--at the time of entry. If a university
had a religious affiliation, it could finance some of its costs through
donations or grants from international religious organizations. The
government provided only limited support for private universities.
Higher education in the early 1990s offered a wide range of programs,
many of which were in a state of flux. Nearly half of all students
enrolled in higher education in 1985 were social sciences majors.
Humanities and science and technology represented nearly 28 percent and
21 percent, respectively. The major degrees granted were the sarjana
muda (junior scholar; roughly corresponding to a bachelor's degree)
and the sarjana (scholar or master's degree). Very few doktor
(doctoral) degrees were awarded. Few students studying for the sarjana
muda actually finished in one to three years. One study found that
only 10 to 15 percent of students finished their course of study on
time, partly because of the requirement to complete the traditional skripsi
(thesis). In 1988, for instance, 235,000 new students were admitted for sarjana
muda-level training and 1,234,800 were enrolled at various stages
of the program, but only 95,600 graduated.
Discussion about how to improve Indonesian higher education focused
on issues of teacher salaries, laboratory and research facilities, and
professor qualifications. According to official figures, in 1984 only
13.9 percent of permanent faculty members at state institutions of
higher learning had any advanced degree; only 4.5 percent had a
doctorate. Since doctoral programs were rare in Indonesia and there was
little money to support education overseas, this situation improved only
slowly. Despite these difficulties, most institutions of higher
education received large numbers of applications in the late 1980s and
early 1990s; in state institutions less than one application in four was
accepted. One of the most serious problems for graduates with advanced
degrees, however, was finding employment suited to their newly acquired
education.
The University of Indonesia, founded in Jakarta in the 1930s, is the
nation's oldest university. Other major universities include Gadjah Mada
University (Indonesia's oldest postindependence university, founded in
1946) in Yogyakarta; Catholic University and Institut Teknologi Bandung,
both in Bandung; and the Institut Pertanian Bogor in Bogor. In the early
1990s, there also were important regional universities in Sulawesi,
Sumatera Utara, Jawa Barat, and Irian Jaya.
(http://countrystudies.us/indonesia/56.htm)
