Per capita income is not always on par with educational achievements. The Indonesian government should not be shy to learn from Vietnam on how to develop an education policy.
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Kompas/Wisnu Widiantoro
Several Grade 1 students at SD YPPK Don Bosco Ewer elementary school, Asmat regency, Papua, smile for the camera on Monday. Ten teachers cater for 200 students at the school.
JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Indonesia’s per capita income is not on par with the quality of its education. That quality, especially at elementary and secondary level, is still below average. Indonesia is in the same category as Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines.
The result of Vietnam’s education system came as a surprise to the World Bank because it is above average -- equal to that of China’s. In fact, Vietnam’s per capita income is only half of Indonesia’s.
Vietnam scored 525 based on a report, “Growing Smarter-Learning & Equitable in East Asia & Pacific”, released by the World Bank Education Global Practice on Thursday. That score was far above the World Bank’s prediction of 394.
The score was obtained from an assessment of the capability of school students (elementary and high school) using the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) and Trend International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) methods. The result of the research into 29 East Asian and Asian Pacific countries was collected by the World Bank from various sources, including the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
“Countries with PISA scores that are above average mean they are brave enough to prioritize basic and secondary education,” said World Bank senior economist Amer Hasan.
The World Bank highlights Vietnam as an example of a country with a strong commitment to develop basic and secondary education. They curtail their budget in other sectors to prioritize basic and secondary education.
Per capita income
Vietnam’s per capita income is half of Indonesia’s, which is US$5,668. If we use this per capita income, Vietnam will only get a PISA score of 394. In reality, it scored 525.
On the other hand, Indonesia with a per capita income of $10,385 could score 422. As it turned out the score was 403.
“This fact counters opinions that the PISA score is determined by per capita income,” Hasan said.
From the economic scale and education budget disbursement, Indonesia should have scored better than Vietnam, he added. Moreover, 20 percent of the state budget is prioritized for education.
“Make the budget disbursement more efficient and effective. The duration of learning at schools in Indonesia is good. But, we have to know what the students are doing at school? Does the learning time give anything to them?” Hasan said.
World Bank data shows that 10 percent of Grade 2 elementary school students in Indonesia are unable to read. In fact, school participation is at 97 percent. Meanwhile, the welfare of teachers and their presence in class also increase with additional earnings in the form of professional allowances.
“It means the learning time at school has not been given added value in the form of passing on knowledge to students,” Hasan said. In this case, the two determinant factors are the readiness of the students to study and the quality of teachers.
The report mentions that the readiness of students to study depends on factors such as a safe and clean environment, good health service, adequate nutrition and parent involvement.
Safety and sanitation as well as health service are closely related to infrastructure development and human resource availability.
Selection of teachers
Commitment is needed to select quality teacher candidates. Besides, there should be periodic evaluation and training for all teachers.
Paramadina University public policy professor Totok Amin Soefijanto said it needed initiatives from regional administrations to campaign for the improvement of the quality of education in their respective regions. It would not be effective to only rely on the Indonesia Smart Card from the central government, he added.
One region taken as example by the World Bank for its success in developing basic and secondary education is Gorontalo regency, Gorontalo province.
Gorontalo Education Office head Lilian Rahman said their team of education advisors focused on education to create a conducive learning environment.
“Teachers, who receive a certification allowance, must allocate 10 percent of it for competency development,” she said.
Primary training is conducted through the Subject Teachers Association and Teachers Working Group.
Education can only improve via a comprehensive approach through factors such as infrastructure, availability and teacher quality, health service and wise spending of the budget. It needs the government to be courageous to implement policies to prioritize basic and secondary education.
“In Indonesia in the 1970s, the policy in the form of presidential instruction was effective in expanding access to schools. The state budget was primarily spent on this policy. The success in that era could be an example for the central government and the regional administrations in taking policies related to basic and secondary education,” Hasan said.
Access in hinterland
Sergius Womsiwor, the principal of integrated high school SMP/SMA Wasur in Merauke regency, Papua, said it was difficult for people in Papua, especially in the hinterland, to gain access to basic and secondary education. In order to raise their spirits, they needed a more flexible program, he added.
Suryadi, the deputy principal of SMKN Kuripan vocational school in West Lombok regency, West Nusa Tenggara, said one of the challenges to improve education quality was the non-proportional budget. Schools that are dependent on the school operational assistance (BOS) fund are not able to improve quality. “Not to mention the non-permanent teachers being recruited. They have limited opportunities for training,” he said.
