EDUCATION IN INDONESIA

The character of Indonesias education system reflects the countrys diverse religious
heritage, its struggle for a national identity, and the challenge of resource allocation in a poor
but developing archipelagic nation with a population that is young (median age 27.6 years)
and growing (at an estimated annual rate of about 1.1 percent) in 2009. Nearly 98 percent of
students complete primary school according to United Nations Educational, Scientific, and
Cultural Organization (UNESCO) estimates in 2001. The adult literacy rate ranges between
88.5 percent, according to a U.S. Government estimate for 2003, and 90.2 percent, according
to a 2001 UNESCO estimate.
Indonesia has a twelve-year public and private education system (primarygrades one
through six; junior high schoolgrades seven through nine; and senior high schoolgrades
ten through twelve). In Indonesia educations begins with six years of elementary school
(sekolah dasar, SD) followed by three years of middle school (sekolah menengah pertama,
SMP) followed by three years of high school (sekolah menengah atas, SMA).
The system is supervised by the Ministry of National Education (which is responsible
for nonreligious, public schoolsabout 92 percent of total enrollment at the primary level
and 44 percent at the secondary level) and the Ministry of Religious Affairs (which is
responsible for religious, private, and semiprivate schoolsabout 15 percent of total
enrollment).

Curriculum and Religious Education in Indonesia

Under the National Education Law, religious instruction in any one of the six official
religions is required when requested by a student. In a survey by the U.S. State Department in
2000, 95 percent of all respondents said schools should provide more religious instruction for
children. In the mid 2000s Islamic factions and parties pushed through a national education
bill which required schools to provide students with religious teaching according to their
faiths.
Angel Rabasa of Rand Corporation wrote: In Indonesia, religious education in state-
run schools is multi-religious. Every student who belongs to any of the five recognized
religions (Islam, Catholic Christianity, Protestant Christianity, Buddhism and Hinduism) is
entitled to religious instruction in his or her religion (although a minimum number of students
is required before instruction in a particular religion is provided). If no religious instruction is
available in accordance with the students faith, the student has the right to be excused from
religious instruction. Instruction in Confucianism can also be offered as an option in state
schools, although Confucianism is not a recognized religion. The religious curriculum is set
by the Ministry of Education, in consultation with representatives of the different religious
communities. Textbooks are produced by autonomous publishers, but screened by the
Ministry. In order to enhance the teachers knowledge of other religions, the general
competence aims for the other religions are cited in the introduction to the curricula for every
religion. [Source: Angel Rabasa, Senior Policy Analyst, Rand Corporation, September 12,
2005]
A central goal of the national education system is 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. Beginning under
Guided Democracy (195965) and strengthened in the New Order after 1975, a key feature of
the national curriculumas was the case for other national institutionshas been instruction
in the Pancasila. Children age six and older learned by rote its five principlesbelief in one
God, humanitarianism, national unity, democracy, and social justiceand were instructed
daily to apply the meanings of this key national symbol to their lives.
In public schools, emphasis on moral and civil studies under the rubric of Pancasila was
altered after the end of the New Order. Since 2000, for example, courses in Pancasila
Morality have been known as Civic Education and their intensity and propagandistic
qualities much reduced. But with the end of the New Order in 1998 and the beginning of the
campaign to decentralize the national government, provincial and district-level administrators
obtained increasing autonomy in determining the content of schooling, and Pancasila began
to play a diminishing role in the curriculum. Most religious schools emphasize Islamic values
and thought.

Public Schools in Indonesia Increasing Go Islamic

In the past 10 to 15 years, schools have increasingly adopted policies that favor Islam,
the majority religion, ordering Muslim students to wear Muslim-styled uniforms either every
day or at least on Fridays, when Muslims go to mosque. Some schools also require Muslim
students to recite verses from Quran every morning before the lessons begin.
Some schools now hold a daily mass recital of Quran before formal classes begin. In
one school in eastern Jakarta, Muslim students spend 15 to 20 minutes reading Quran every
morning, guided through a public address system, said a teacher at the school, speaking on
condition that neither she nor the school be identified, for fear of professional repercussions.
Christian students sit together in one room, within hearing of the Quran recital, to read the
Bible. Hindu and Buddhist students, who dont have their own religious teachers in the
school, read their religious texts while sitting in the same rooms as their Muslim classmates
reciting the Quran.

Universities in Indonesia
There are some 1,634 institutions of higher education, including the University of
Indonesia in Jakarta, founded by the Dutch in the 1930s, and Gadjah Mada University in
Yogyakarta, founded by Indonesians in 1946. The best universities are mostly in Java. Top
universities include the University of Indonesia in Jakarta and Bogor Agricultural University
in Bogor and Universitas Gajah Mada in Yogyakarta. Bandung Institute of Technology
(Institut Teknologi Bandung) is the top technical university. Approximately 15 percent of
Indonesias students of higher education attend a public or private Islamic university,
institute, academy, or polytechnic institute. Among these is the State Muslim University
(UIN)formerly called the State Institute for Islamic Religion (IAIN)which has been an
important venue for progressive debates about Islam. [Source: Library of Congress]
By 2009 there were 2,975 institutions of higher education and more than 4.2 million
students. Of these institutions, 3 percent were public, with 57.1 percent of the student
enrollment, and 97 percent were private, with 42.9 of the student enrollment. Even though
government subsidies finance approximately 80 to 90 percent of state-university budgets,
universities have considerably more autonomy in curriculum and internal structure than
primary and secondary schools. Whereas tuition in such state institutions is more affordable
for average students than private-university tuition, faculty salaries are low by international
standards. Lecturers often have other jobs outside the university to supplement their wages.
Private universities are generally operated by foundations. Unlike state universities,
private institutions have budgets that are almost entirely tuition-driven. A onetime registration
fee (which can be quite high) is determined at the time of entry. If a university has a religious
affiliation, it can cover some of its costs with donations or grants from international religious
organizations. The government provides only limited scholarship support for students
wishing to attend private universities.
Higher education has suffered from a lecture-based system, poor laboratories, a
shortage of adequate textbooks in Indonesian, and a poor level of English-language
proficiency, which keeps many students from using such foreign textbooks as are available.
Research in universities is limited and mainly serves government projects or private
enterprise and allows researchers to supplement their salaries.
Today many Indonesians have earned advanced degrees abroad and most have returned
to serve their country. In this effort the government has received considerable support from
the World Bank, United Nation agencies, foreign governments, and private foundations.
Increasingly, better-educated people serve at all levels in national and regional governments,
and the private sector has benefitted greatly from these educational efforts.

University Programs in Indonesia

Indonesian institutions of higher education offer a wide range of programs. However,
about 52 percent of all non-teacher-training students enrolled in higher education were social
sciences majors in the 20089 academic year, while only 3 percent majored in laboratory-
intensive fields of study, largely because universities prefer to offer social science courses
that do not require expensive laboratories and equipment. The major academic degree
programs are the sarjana (literally scholar, roughly corresponding to a bachelors degree)
and the pasca sarjana (masters or doctoral degree). Professional schools offer diploma and
specialist degrees, the latter graded either SP1" or SP2," depending on the level of
advancement. From 2001 to 2004, the number of students completing their sarjana degrees
grew dramatically from about 308,000 in 2001 to nearly 683,000 in 2004, a 122-percent
increase. This level stood at 652,364 graduates at the end of academic year 20089. [Source:
Library of Congress *]

Discussion about how to improve Indonesian higher education focuses on the issues of
teacher salaries, laboratory and research facilities, and professors qualifications. Only 7
percent of university faculty overall held a Ph.D. in the mid-2000s, although the proportion
was greater (11 percent) in state institutions. Because doctoral programs are few in Indonesia
and there is little money to support education overseas, this situation is improving only
slowly. Despite these difficulties, most institutions of higher education receive large numbers
of applications; in state institutions, less than one in four applications was accepted in 2004;
in private institutions, the acceptance rate was nearly two out of three. One of the most
serious problems for graduates with advanced degrees, however, is finding employment
suited to their newly acquired education. In 2003 the unemployment rate for college
graduates with the sarjana degree was approximately 20 percent, and 10 percent for graduates
of professional schools.
Salary Comparison By Job Category (Average Monthly Salary)
Displayed below is the salary comparison by job category. Clicking on any of them will
display data only for the chosen item.

Job Category Average Salary

Recreation and Sports 1,000,000 IDR
Fitness / Hair / Beauty 2,350,000 IDR
Courier / Delivery / Transport / Drivers 2,650,000 IDR
Bilingual 2,933,333 IDR
Publishing and Printing 4,625,000 IDR
Law Enforcement / Security / Fire 5,000,000 IDR

Advertising / Grapic Design / Event Management 5,307,353 IDR

Public Relations 5,933,333 IDR
Science and Technical Services 6,019,000 IDR
Fashion and Apparel 6,200,000 IDR
Gardening / Farming / Fishing 6,500,000 IDR
Environmental 8,067,500 IDR
Administration / Reception / Secretarial 8,180,909 IDR
Media / Broadcasting / Arts / Entertainment 9,400,000 IDR
Customer Service and Call Center 9,496,667 IDR
Insurance 9,740,000 IDR
Facilities / Maintenance / Repair 9,785,000 IDR
Sales Retail and Wholesale 11,500,046 IDR
Food /Hospitality / Tourism / Catering 12,170,000 IDR
Information Technology 12,443,770 IDR
Electrical and Electronics Trades 12,925,000 IDR
Airlines / Aviation / Aerospace / Defense 13,686,357 IDR
Banking 13,864,314 IDR
Import and Export 13,916,667 IDR
Construction / Building / Installation 13,957,407 IDR
Engineering 14,256,583 IDR
Quality Control and Compliance 14,621,231 IDR
Human Resources 14,876,589 IDR
Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology 15,000,000 IDR
Accounting and Finance 15,648,246 IDR
Automotive 15,925,000 IDR
Teaching / Education 17,008,767 IDR
Factory and Manufacturing 17,488,889 IDR
Architecture 18,538,889 IDR
Purchasing and Inventory 18,688,889 IDR
Business Planning 18,982,000 IDR
Marketing 19,287,432 IDR
Oil / Gas / Energy / Mining 24,661,964 IDR
Legal 27,781,818 IDR
Health and Medical 28,243,286 IDR
Telecommunication 29,680,000 IDR
Real Estate 30,400,000 IDR
Executive and Management 33,444,986 IDR