THE EDUCATION IN INDONESIA

        

Education in Indonesia is under the responsibility of the Ministry of Education and Culture and the Ministry of Religious Affairs. In Indonesia, all citizens must undertake nine years of compulsory education which consists of six years at elementary level and three in secondary level. Islamic schools are under the responsibility of the Ministry of Religious Affairs.

Education is defined as a planned effort to establish a study environment and education process so that the student may actively develop his/her own potential to gain the religious and spiritual level, consciousness, personality, intelligence, behavior and creativity to him/herself, other citizens and for the nation. The Constitution also notes that education in Indonesia is divided into two major parts, formal and non formal. Formal education is further divided into three levels, primary, secondary and tertiary education.

Schools in Indonesia are run either by the government or private sectors.Some private schools refer to themselves as "national plus schools" which means that they intend to go beyond the minimum government requirements, especially with the use of English as medium of instruction or having an international based curriculum instead of the national one.

Era of Islamic states

The emergence of Islamic state in Indonesia is noted by the acculturation of both Islamic tradition and Hindu-Buddhist tradition. At this time period, pondok pesantren, a type of Islamic boarding school was introduced and several of them were established. The location of pesantren is mostly faraway from the hustling crowd of the city, resembling the location of Karsyan.

Early education

From the age of 2, some children in Indonesia attend pre-school playgroup, known as PAUD (Pendidikan Anak Usia Dini). From the age of 4, they attend kindergarten (Taman Kanak-Kanak). This education is not compulsory for Indonesian citizens, as it is aimed to prepare them for Primary Schooling. Of the 49,000 kindergartens in Indonesia, 99.35% of them are privately operatedschools.The kindergarten years are usually divided into "Class A" and "Class B" students spending a year in each class.

Public primary and secondary education

Children aged 6–11 attend primary school, called Sekolah Dasar.Students spend six years in primary school, though some schools offer an accelerated learning program in which students who perform well can complete the level in five years.

Three years of middle school (Sekolah Menengah Pertama) follow elementary school.

After completion of the six-year primary-school program, three years of junior secondary school (Sekolah Menengah Pertama) may be followed by three years of senior secondary school (Sekolah Menengah Atas); or students can choose among a variety of vocational and pre-professional junior and senior secondary schools (Sekolah Menengah Kejuruan), each level of which requires three years of study.There are academic and vocational junior high schools that lead to senior-level diplomas.There are also "domestic science" junior high schools for girls.At the senior high school level, three years agricultural, veterinary, and forestry schools are open to students who have graduated from an academic junior high school. Students with disabilities/special needs may alternately opt to be enrolled in a separate school from the mainstream called Sekolah Luar Biasa (lit. Extraordinary School).

Islamic schools

Madrasah Ibtidaiyah (MI) is the Islamic schooling alternative to SD, following a curriculum with more focus on Arabic and Islam. Madrasah Tsanawiyah (MTs) is the Islamic schooling equivalent of SMP. Madrasah Aliyah (MA) is the Islamic schooling equivalent of SMA while Madrasah Aliyah Kejuruan (MAK) is the equivalent of SMK.

Higher education

Most of the 6,000 foreign students studying in Indonesian universities hail from Malaysia. In particular, they are in the fields of , pharmacy,medicine, humanities,literature,Islamic studies and engineering and the majority are sponsored by the Malaysian government. These foreign students are dispersed across Indonesia in almost all government universities such as Universitas Sumatera Utara,University of Indonesia, Gadjah Mada University, Bandung Institute of Technology and also in private institutions such as Universitas Kristen Krida Wacana (UKRIDA).

Indonesian degrees

1.Diploma 1(D1)            :Associate Degree(Profesional Ahli Pratama)

2.Diploma 2(D2)            :Associate Degree(Profesional Ahli Muda)

3.Diploma 3(D3)            :Associate Degree(Profesional Ahli Madya)

4.Diploma 4(D4)            :Bachelor’s Degree(Sarjana Sains Terapan)

5.Sarjana 1(S1)              :Bachelor’s Degree(Sarjana)

6.Sarjana 2(S2)              :Master’s Degree(Magister)

7.Sarjana 3(S3)              :Doctoral Degree(Doktor)