Artwork #1: Portrait of Our Current Education
By Indra Mufarendra
Education is the right of every citizen (Based on Article 28 C paragraph 1, Article 28E paragraph 1, and Article 31 of the Indonesian Constitution 1945), without exception. That is the mandate of the Law. What is the reality in the field?
According to data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) of the Republic of Indonesia, the Gross Participation Rate (APK) for children aged 7-12, at the elementary education level, has reached 99.19 percent.
This figure has tended to increase in recent years, and is expected to approach 100 percent in the near future
From the APK, it can be seen that the majority of children aged 7-12 have received their right to education. But what kind of education?
What is the quality?
Because access to education alone is not enough if Indonesia wants to have reliable human resources. Education must be inclusive and open to anyone, of course, with equal quality, or at least with a narrow gap.
However, in reality, currently, not all children receive quality education. Especially children who come from poor families, or those who live in remote or isolated areas.
Among them is the quality of teachers. Referring to existing data, in remote villages, only 20 percent of teachers have a bachelor's degree.
Not to mention, if we look at the ratio of teachers to students.
Ideally, the ratio of teachers to students for elementary education is 1:17. Or, in other words, one teacher handles one class of 17 students.
But in remote areas, often one teacher has to handle several classes at once.
These various non-ideal conditions are a major challenge that must be solved by the government, both central and regional governments, since this educational readiness is something that must be addressed by the state of the nation, "going up a class".