Decentralization of Education in Indonesia--A Study on Education Development Gaps in the Provincial Areas

• Published in: International education studies Vol. 10; no. 7; pp. 79 - 93
• Main Author: Winardi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Canadian Center of Science and Education 27.06.2017
• Subjects: Administrative Organization; Data Analysis; Educational Development; Educational Facilities; Educational Resources; Foreign Countries; Illiteracy; Literacy; Rural Areas; Indonesia
• ISSN: 1913-9020
• DOI: 10.5539/ies.v10n7p79

Decentralization is acknowledged as the handover of government from central government to local government, including giving broader authority to local governments to manage education. This study aims to discovering education development gap between regions in Indonesia as a result of decentralization. This research method uses descriptive analysis that is supported by a combination of time series data and cross section data. Time series data used is the year 2014-2015, and the cross section data of 34 provinces in Indonesia. Gaps were revealed on the resources (including budgets, school facilities, and teachers), school participation, and the population that is illiterate in the area. The results showed that the persistence of the education development gap between regions. Gaps school facilities and number of teachers between regions still exists. The number of existing school facilities in some areas did not meet to accommodate all students. The ratio of the number of schools with teachers is still not meet. School participation rates in the provincial area still tend to be low, especially for the age group 16-18 and 19-24 years. There is gap between regions to reduce the population is illiterate, there are areas have a number of illiterates is still high despite the provincial area having income that is quite large. The study also found that, overall, the decentralization of education in Indonesia increase in the number of school participation and decrease the number of illiterate population in the provincial area.