Education

Education is critical to reducing poverty. Education gives girls and boys the necessary skills and knowledge to live fuller and healthier lives, find jobs and actively participate in society.

Education is a fundamental human right. However too many children are missing educational opportunities - whether it is because they cannot afford to go to school, live too far away from one or because they are forced to work at an early age. If they are girls or live with a disability, they are even more likely to miss out.

Education in Indonesia

Indonesia is working to ensure that by 2015 every Indonesian child receives at least nine years of basic education - regardless of their gender, where they live or how much their family earns.

An estimated 94 per cent of Indonesia's children are now enrolled for six years of primary school, while about 67 per cent complete the full nine years of schooling.

But there are still approximately one million boys and girls who cannot afford to keep going to school every year in Indonesia.

Many of these children come from families that earn US$2 or less per day. These families do not make enough money to send their children to school, often live too far away from one, and cannot afford to pay for transport.

Keeping poor children motivated to stay in school is also a challenge. Because there are not enough schools across Indonesia, classes are often overcrowded and books are limited. Badly built schools often lack facilities, like separate toilets for girls and boys, and amenities for children with disabilities. Poorly trained teachers make it hard for children to stay interested in learning. In addition, these schools are often run by principals and education officials with limited management and budgeting skills.

Because of this, many children continue to drop out of school every year.

What Australia is doing

Australia supports Indonesia's commitment to provide access to quality education for all of its children.

Australia's support extends from basic education to vocational skills training and improving tertiary-level qualifications.

Building more schools

Australia has already built more than 2,000 junior secondary schools (Years 7 - 9) across Indonesia which has helped increase access to education. More than 130,000 children are already enrolled and attending these schools; 50 per cent of these children are girls. Because there are now more schools in remote and rural areas, approximately 70 per cent of these students now travel less than three kilometres to get to them. Absenteeism and drop out rates at these schools are lower than the national average.

Improving education quality

Australia is helping Indonesia improve its education system. This includes working with teachers to improve their teaching skills and with parents to support the education of their children. Australia is also working with school principals to improve their management skills and with education officials across 34 provinces to better manage their education budgets.

Improving Islamic schools

Australia is also working to improve the quality of education in Indonesia's Islamic schools, known as Madrasah. Faith-based schools are an important part of Indonesia's education system. Approximately 13 per cent of Indonesia's student population attends a faith based school. These schools are often in the poorest and most remote areas. Australia's support targets Islamic schools that teach the national curriculum. We are helping to better train teachers in these schools, including improving English language skills.

Improving gender equality

Australia's support to Indonesia's education system aims to equally meet the needs and interests of girls and boys. This includes equal opportunity to attend school; creating friendly and welcoming school environments; and ensuring learning materials are gender-sensitive. Schools built with Australia's assistance include separate toilet facilities for girls and boys to encourage attendance by girls. Australia also supports the equal representation of women in leadership roles in teaching, administrative and educational management.

Giving scholarships

Australia gives more than 300 scholarships each year to Indonesians to study at the postgraduate level in Australia. These help build Indonesia's workforce and create strong people-to-people links between both countries. Through the Australia Awards, scholarships are given in development areas decided between Australia and Indonesia including health and education, democratic reform, better governance, disaster mitigation and response, and public sector management. Approximately 17 per cent of alumni have gone on to positions of influence, including the Vice President of Indonesia, the Foreign Minister and the President's Domestic Policy Adviser. About 94 per cent of alumni believe the skills they gained in Australia helped them actively contribute to Indonesia's economic and social growth.

Partnership and aid effectiveness

Australia's latest education activities in Aceh, Papua and West Sumatra have co-financing or cooperative arrangements with key education partners including the European Union, the Netherlands, the United States (USAID), the World Bank and UNICEF. Australia is also currently co-chair of the Education Sector Working Group, a forum hosted by Indonesia's Ministry of National Education, which focuses on education policy.

See Major aid activities in Education.

This page was last updated on 8 June 2010