Boediono Confirms Indonesia on Track for 12-Year Education by 2014

Jakarta Globe, Camelia Pasandaran & Made Arya Kencana, May 26, 2010

Vice President Boediono, in white, announced a new education plan at a Denpasar high school. The plan is hoped to prevent students from dropping out after graduating junior high school. (JG Photo/JP Christo)

Denpasar. The government is on track to introduce compulsory 12-year basic education for all Indonesian children by 2014, officials said on Wednesday, with pilot programs expected to begin this year in selected provinces.

Vice President Boediono discussed the ambitious plan during a visit to SMA 1 high school in Denpasar. “We’re committed to rolling out this program in stages, as part of our effort to boost the country’s academic standing,” he told students at the school, which notched the highest average scores in this year’s national exams.

National Education Minister Muhammad Nuh, who accompanied the vice president, said the program could not be implemented immediately because of the relatively high number of students dropping out after junior high school to enter the work force.

“While the 12-year plan would see all children graduate from senior high school, we also have a 17-year plan in mind that would ensure all young people get a college degree,” he said.

He said about 30 percent of students nationwide left school after junior high, although in Bali the rate was 10 percent. The 12-year program is set to be an extension of the current nine-year mandatory basic education program, under which all children are expected to complete junior high school.

Under the existing and proposed programs, tuition is free at state schools, although in practice most schools require parents to contribute to an annual “maintenance fund.”

“We plan to implement the 12-year program nationwide by 2014, but several provinces such as Bali, Jakarta and East Kalimantan will have pilot projects before then,” Nuh said.

Education officials in Bali, the province boasting the highest national exam pass rate, were more cautious about the ambitious deadline to get pilot programs in place by the start of the 2011 school year.

“It’s going to be a challenge to implement the 12-year mandatory basic education program,” provincial education head I Wayan Suasta said.

During Boediono’s visit to the school, the Bali education office received a Rp 3.2 billion ($342,400) fund from the ministries of education and religious affairs to help disadvantaged junior high school graduates continue their studies and to promote Hinduism and Buddhism lessons. Eligible students include the handicapped, religious school graduates and those from low-income families.

“This fund is part of our commitment to maintaining the education sector as the country’s top priority,” Boediono said.

Bali Governor Made Mangku Pastika said his administration was committed to allocating 20 percent of the provincial budget toward education. He said its 2010 education budget was Rp 369 billion, up from Rp 320 billion the previous year.

He also pledged to maintain the Education Operational Aid (BOP) scheme, under which the province subsidizes low-income junior high school students’ additional fees by Rp 800,000 a month, and Rp 1,000,000 for low-income vocational school students.

“In the future, all students should have at least a senior high diploma,” Pastika said.