In Indonesia, children must attend nine years of schooling and can choose between public or private religious schools; however, many schools suffer from poor quality and teaching standards. Corruption is prevalent in the education system, affecting both teachers and parents, including cases of bribery and extortion. Efforts are being made to improve classrooms, notably with support from U.S. aid, but challenges remain in teaching subjects like English effectively.

1. School life in INDONESIA

2. INTRODUCTION
In Indonesia, children are required to attend nine years of school. They can choose between
state-run, non-sectarian public schools supervised by the Department of National Education
(Depdiknas) or private or semiprivate religious (usually Islamic) School. These schools are
administered and financed by the Department of Religious Affairs.
However, although 86.1 % of the Indonesian population is registered as Muslim, according to
the 2000 census only 15 percent of school-age individuals attended religious schools. The
entire enrolment figures are slightly higher for girls than boys and much higher in Java than
the rest of Indonesia.

3. 01
POOR STATE OF INDONESIA’S SCHOOLS
In the government education system, usually, quantity has triumphed over
quality. Amenities remain poorly equipped and salaries remain so low that many
teachers had to take additional jobs to support their families.
Only 51 percent of Indonesian teachers have the proper qualifications to teach
and at any given time one-third of teachers are absent because of illness or
legitimate leave.
Only a third of Indonesian students — in a country where 57 million attend school
complete basic schooling and the education system is overwhelmed by poor
teaching and corruption.

4. 02
CORRUPTION IN INDONESIAN SCHOOLS
Bribes are regularly paid to teachers and principals in part because their salaries
are so low, but that just the tip of the iceberg regarding exploitation in education
in Indonesia.
According to Voice of America: A report by Ade Wirawan of Indonesian Corruption
Watch on corruption in schools says that graft in the education system goes far
beyond the issues of students bribing teachers for passing grades on exams.
“Corruption takes a lot of different shapes. For the parents, it’s pure extortion. For
example, if so-and-so’s parents don’t give money, he won’t receive his school
certificate,” Ade said.

5. 03
COMBATING CORRUPTION IN INDONESIAN SCHOOLS
In 2011, the Voice of America reported: “Widi Wiramotko is an angry woman. The
petite mother of three clutches a thick file that, she says, contains proof of how rotten
her children’s school is: the documents show the school needs parents to pay for
services, when already financed by the state. Widi clarifies that she got the documents
when she served as a representative of parents on a school committee.
The committee declines to sign off on the administration’s proposed budget as they
suspected wrongdoings. Resulting in, all parents were kicked out of the committee
and, she says, her son was harassed by the administration.

6. 04
PROBLEM WITH ENGLISH TEACHING IN INDONESIA
Seven out of ten people in Indonesia questioned by the Jakarta Post said their English
classes at school were tedious and did not help them in their life ahead. Sari P. Setiogi
wrote in the Jakarta Post, “While English is taught at most elementary school, some
parents try to give their children a head start by encouraging them to master the
basics numbers, familiar objects and the like before enrolling them in international
kindergartens.
For most students though, learning English is a tough task and one that they readily
complain about. "Er... I learned English, yes, but I don't feel confident. I feel weird
every time I try to speak English,” said Toto, a graduate of a private university in
Jakarta.

7. 05
U.S. AID HELPS TO LIVEN UP INDONESIAN CLASSROOMS
Reporting from Wlingi, Java, Jane Perlez wrote in the International Herald
Tribune, “In the first- grade classroom of Wening Sripeni, a diminutive
teacher in headscarf and neck-to-ankle garment, the 6-year- olds bubble
over with answers, a show of hands at every question about who's who in
an Indonesian family.
There were a lot of giggles at the juxtaposition of a baby and a book. "So,
you can see the baby likes to do the same thing as Grandpa," Sirpeni says.
"Reading is very important." Such back and forth, especially with mirth, is
unusual in Indonesia's schools, where rows of desks, a blackboard and
chalk, and a stern teacher dispensing strict discipline are the norm.

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