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.

Early education

             From the age of 2, some children in Indonesia attend pre-school  known as PAUD. From the age of 4, they attend kindergarten. 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 operated school the  kindergarten years are usually divided into "Class A" and "Class B" students spending a year in each class.

Primary School

            Children aged 6–11 attend Sekolah Dasar (SD) (lit. Primary School). This level is compulsory for all Indonesian citizens, according to the Constitution. In contrast to the majority of privately run kindergartens, most elementary schools are government-operated public schools, accounting for nearly 93% of all elementary schools in Indonesia.  Similar to education systems in the U.S., students must spend six years to complete this level. Some schools offer an accelerated learning program, where students who perform well can complete the level in five years.

             Madrasah Ibtidaiyah  (MI) is the Islamic schooling alternative to SD, following a curriculum with more focus on Arabic and Islam.

Middle School

            Middle School, generally known by the abbreviation "SMP" is part of  basic education in Indonesia. After graduating from primary school, students attend Middle School for three years from the age of 12 to 14. After three years of schooling and graduation, students may move on to High School. Madrasah Tsanawiyah (MTs) is the Islamic schooling equivalent of SMP.

High School

A public High School in Jakarta

            In Indonesia, there are two types of High School. The first is generally known by the abbreviation "SMA" and second is SMK. SMA differs from SMK in their studies. The students at SMA are prepared to continue their study to university while students of SMK are prepared to be ready to work after graduation, even sans university education. SMA is the Indonesian equivalent of university preparatory school while SMK resembles more of a vocational school. Students attending SMA will be divided into three group of studies in their 11th grade, i.e. Science, Social studies, and Linguistics. According to the Constitution, this level of education is not compulsory. Such a fact is reflected by the lower number of High Schools in Indonesia, which is slightly below 9,000.

            (MA) is the Islamic schooling equivalent of SMA while Madrasah Aliyah Kejuruan (MAK) is the equivalent of SMK.

Higher education

            After graduation from High School, students may attend an institution of higher education of their choice. The higher education institution is categorized into two types: public and private. Both are supervised by the Ministry of National Education. There are four types of higher education institution: Universities, Institutes, Academies, and Polytechnics.