ALSA LC USK ACADEMIC COMPETITION 2023

“Empowering Through Equal Education: Bridging

Opportunities and Overcoming Barriers”

INDONESIA'S EDUCATION DISPARITY

OLEH:

AL FATARAS

MAN 1 KOTA LHOKSEUMAWE

LHOSEUMAWE
2024
 Education is a future investment for a developing country. Indonesia, as one of the
developing nations, has implemented one of the goals stated in the 1945 Constitution,
which is to enlighten the nation and ensure that every Indonesian citizen has the right to
receive quality education based on their interests and talents, regardless of social status,
race, ethnicity, religion, gender, and geographical conditions. Education, technically,
should be accessible to all Indonesian citizens, even to the remote corners of the
archipelago. However, in reality, many regions in Indonesia still struggle to obtain their
rights as Indonesian citizens, such as facing difficulties in accessing education, or
feeling that the government's education distribution is unjust for students, mostly in the
remote inland areas.

Education equity is part of the decentralization program. The change in the

government system from centralization to decentralization has been determined by the
Central Government by stipulating the Law of the Republic of Indonesia Number 23 of
2014 concerning Regional Government replacing the Law of the Republic of Indonesia
Number 32 of 2004 which is considered no longer in accordance with the development
of circumstances, state administration and Regional Government. In Law of the
Republic of Indonesia Number 23 of 2014 concerning Regional Government Article 1
paragraph 8 states that ‘Decentralization is the transfer of Government Affairs by the
Central Government to autonomous regions based on the Principle of Autonomy’
(President of the Republic of Indonesia, 2014). Meanwhile, UNESCO (2005, p. 1)
defines decentralization as ‘An essential feature of the on-going modernization and
reform of public sector management’.

Decentralization means giving more power and responsibilities to local

governments instead of the central government. Indonesia has done this since 1998 after
the end of the Suharto regime. By decentralizing, local governments can make policies
that fit the needs of their regions better. This helps make education more equal across
different parts of Indonesia. However, there are still some challenges. Local
governments may not have enough money, skills or accountability to manage education
well. Building their abilities, giving them proper funding, and monitoring their
performance are important. (world bank, 2020). If these issues are addressed,
decentralization can really help achieve educational equity for all children in Indonesia's
diverse regions, no matter where they live.

Unfortunately, the current state of education distribution in Indonesia is still

poorly realized. The issue lies in the fact that education is predominantly focused in
urban areas, and the government subsidies are still insufficient for a significant number
of underprivileged people. Therefore, both the central and regional governments must
always coordinate to ensure equitable distribution throughout Indonesia, especially in
hard-to-reach areas, so that education can reach the less privileged population.
(Harjanto, 2023)

The equalization of education implemented in various regions of Indonesia has

various obstacles in implementing it. These problems are caused by rural areas that are
remote and far from urban areas in accessing education, services that are still not evenly
distributed (National Development Planning Agency, 2014). This shows that there are
limitations and injustices caused by the uneven accessibility of education services,
limited educators, inadequate regional infrastructure, road infrastructure and transport
facilities that are still not fulfilled. Apart from limited access to education, the constraint
to equitable education is the financial factor. The higher the level of education, the more
expensive the costs incurred by the students.

One of the obstacles to equitable education is the non-achievement of the

compulsory education program organized by the Government. According to Hasanah &
Jabar (2017, p. 238), there are several obstacles to the compulsory education program,
namely the power of community participation in education financing, children's interest
and parents' lack of awareness of the importance of education for the future, the
existence of school dropouts, the socialization of compulsory education programs that
are not optimal, and the inaccuracy of government subsidies related to data collection of
the poor so that it affects the distribution of cards and the lack of investigation.

One of the regions that has been highlighted by the problem of education equity is
Sintang district. The Sintang district government (2010, p. V-5) has set the vision, goals
and objectives of education contained in the 2011-2015 Medium-Term Development
Plan (RPJM), namely ‘Improving access to and quality of education and providing basic
education services for all’.

In remote areas, awareness of continuing education is lacking. They prefer to

work rather than continue their education. The factors that cause this are lack of
individual awareness, economic factors and socio-cultural factors. Socio-cultural factors
here relate to community culture such as views, customs and habits. Lack of community
support. Support from the community for teaching and learning activities is needed. If
the community can believe in the ongoing learning process, it will be easier for
educators. The community support needed includes moral support for teachers
(BayuAsyari, kompasiana, 2021). Poor economic conditions in remote areas also
worsen access to education. Many families in remote areas live below the poverty line,
making it difficult to meet basic needs, let alone additional education costs such as
school uniforms, equipment or transport costs. This often results in children in remote
areas being forced to drop out of school to help their families earn a living.

For these reason, an important agenda that must be prioritized is the improvement
of education equity, especially for the poor, who number around 38.4 million or 17.6
per cent of the total Indonesian population (based on data from the Central Statistics
Agency: 2007). Poverty is a major obstacle in gaining access to education. In Indonesia,
those who need education the most are those in poor and remote areas. To overcome the
need for education for them is an effort to apply non-conventional methods. Another
way is to utilize the potential, progress and flexibility of new technology. Although new
technologies such as communication, information and adimarga technologies offer
equalization of education at a relatively low cost (Ono Purbo, 1996), their use still
represents a gap between the ‘rich’ and the ‘poor’. In addition, even though technology
can reach the unreachable and can bring education to learners, the forgotten remain
disadvantaged because they not only remain technologically illiterate, but also because
they are unable to learn.

The central government and regional governments face challenges in reaching

even remote areas. This causes a breakdown in communication between the central and
regional governments. Apart from that, the problem of equal distribution of education
also occurs due to the lack of power of an educational institution to carry out the
education process. This could happen if the control of education carried out by the
central and regional governments does not reach remote areas. So, this w result in the
majority of Indonesia's population of school age being unable to receive education as
expected.

The problem of unequal distribution of education can be overcome by providing

facilities and learning resources for every level of society who is required to receive
education. The provision of educational facilities and infrastructure carried out by the
government should be implemented as transparently as possible, so that no individual
can manipulate the program being implemented.

The government, through TVRI, delivers development programs and policies to

all corners without significant geographic barriers. Currently, Television Education
(TV-E) has also been pioneered; electronic media for education was pioneered by the
Center for Educational Communication and Information Technology (Pustekkom), an
institution under the Department of National Education (Depdiknas). This is to provide
quality educational broadcast services that can support national education goals. Its job
is to study, design, develop, disseminate, evaluate and foster activities for utilizing
information and communication technology for distance/open education. This is in the
context of improving the quality and equality of education in all pathways, types, and
levels of education in accordance with the principles of educational technology based on
policies established by the Minister of National Education.

In addition, increased investment in education infrastructure will also play an

important role in improving access to education in remote areas. By building more
schools and improving existing educational facilities, governments and non-government
organizations can create a more conducive learning environment for students in remote
areas. Furthermore, involving local communities in decision-making about education
will also be key to achieving sustainable progress. By listening to their needs and
desires, education in remote areas can become more relevant and effective, creating a
greater impact on local communities.

Currently, educational equality is still not well realized. The problem is that
education itself is still oriented towards urban areas, and subsidies from the government
are still not sufficient for the large number of poor people. For this reason, the central
and regional governments must always coordinate so that equality in Indonesia can be
achieved, especially in areas that are difficult to reach, so that distribution can be
comprehensive for less fortunate communities.

Although the challenges of reaching remote areas for educational access cannot
be underestimated, there are several innovations and hopes for the future that shed light
at the end of the tunnel. By technology, community-based approaches, and investment
in educational infrastructure, we can ensure that every child, wherever they are, has the
opportunity to receive adequate and equal education. Thus, we can create a world where
education is no longer a privilege but a human right recognized by all.

Conclusion: The efforts made by the central and regional governments do not
reach remote areas. This situation will result in the majority of Indonesian school-age
population being unable to access education as expected. The issue of education
disparity can be addressed by providing learning facilities and resources for every
segment of society that is obliged to receive education. The provision of educational
facilities and infrastructure by the government should be as transparent as possible, so
that no one can manipulate the implemented programs.
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kerangka ekonomi makro dan pembiayaan pembangunan. Jakarta: Badan Perencanaan
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Harjanto, I. (2023). Challenges in Achieving Educational Equity in Indonesia. Journal

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Hasanah, Y. M., & Jabar, C. S. A. (2017). Evaluasi program wajib belajar 12 tahun
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