Education policies in Indonesia have undergone massive transformation over the past decade. In this period the country saw the administration of primary and secondary education decentralised to regional government level, a new paradigm of school-based management introduced, and public spending on education required by legislation to reach one-fifth of total government spending. The tertiary education sector continues to be dogged by unsatisfactory performance and blurred lines of authority between institutions and government. And while enrolment rates at all levels continue to increase, quality remains low and has not improved.

Educational issues in Indonesia are clearly multi-faceted, and the conference agenda reflects this. It features presentations and analyses on the topics above, as well as papers on education policies in Eastern Indonesia, Islamic education, comparative perspectives from Malaysia, and an evaluation of central government policies to improve teaching quality and reduce teacher absence.

As usual, the Update will begin with a survey of the past year in the political and economic spheres.

The conference is free of charge.

Conference Convenors

Daniel Suryadarma
ANU College of Asia and the Pacific
Email: daniel.suryadarma@anu.edu.au

Gavin W Jones
National University of Singapore
Email: arigwj@nus.edu.sg