The Education System in Indonesia

Figure A-9. Levels of education in Indonesia, by age and year of schooling: 2013

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NOTE: Education levels are defined according to the 1997 International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED97). Ages represent the typical age at the beginning of the school year.
Numbers in bold print indicate ages of universal enrollment (i.e., an enrollment rate of over 90 percent). Numbers highlighted represent the age at which compulsory enrollment begins through the age at which compulsory enrollment ends. No meaning should be inferred from width of subdivisions. Duration of first university degree program is generally 5 years in Indonesia. SOURCE: EP-NUFFIC. (2015). Education System Indonesia: The Indonesian Education System Described and Compared With the Dutch System (3rd version). Retrieved December 23, 2015, from https://www.epnuffic.nl/en/publications/education-system-indonesia.pdf; Ministry of Education and Culture. (2012). Indonesia. In I. Mullis, M. Martin, C. Minnich, K. Drucker and M. Ragan (Eds.), PIRLS 2011 Encyclopedia: Education Policy and Curriculum in Reading, V.1, pp. 315-323. Chestnut Hill, MA, Lynch School of Education, Boston College: TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center; Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. (2013). Education at a Glance: OECD Indicators. Paris: Author; United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. International Bureau of Education. (2011). World Data on Education VII Ed. 2010/11, Indonesia. Retrieved April 3, 2013, from http://www.ibe.unesco.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Publications/WDE/2010/pdf-versions/Indonesia.pdf.

Preprimary:

• Common name: Pendidikan anak usia dini (preprimary education), taman kanak-kanak (general kindergarten), bustanul athfal/raudatul athfal (Islamic kindergarten)
• Ages of attendance: As early as age 4 through age 6
• Number of years: 1 to 3
• Start of universal enrollment: Does not begin in preprimary; see below
• Compulsory: No

Primary:

• Common name: Pendidikan dasar (primary education), sekolah dasa (general primary), madrasah ibtidaiyah (Islamic primary)
• Ages of attendance: 7 through 12
• Number of years: 6
• Universal enrollment: Yes, begins at 7
• Compulsory: Yes, begins at 7

Lower secondary:

• Common name: Pendidikan dasar (primary education), sekolah menengah pertama (general junior secondary), madrasah tsanawiyah (Islamic junior secondary)
• Ages of attendance: 13 through 15
• Number of years: 3
• Universal enrollment: Through age 14
• Compulsory: Yes, through age 14
• Entrance/exit criteria: At the end of grade 6 (primary), students must pass a national examination and academic and psychological testing in order to enter lower secondary education.

Upper secondary:

• Common name: Pendidikan menengah (secondary education)
  • Sekola menengah atas: 3-year general senior secondary school. The first year is general studies; the second and third years focus on natural sciences, social sciences, languages, or religious studies.
  •  Madrasah aliyah: 3-year Islamic senior secondary school, which gives priority to the mastery of religious knowledge.
  • Sekolah menengah kejuruan: 3-year technical and voca-tional secondary education, with 40 different programs in various fields related to job training. Some vocational schools offer 4-year programs leading to a Diploma 1 certificate. (Vocational programs are also offered at religious schools: madrasah aliyah kejuruan.)
• Ages of attendance: 16 through 18
• Number of years: 3
• Universal enrollment: No
• Compulsory: No
• Entrance/exit criteria: At the end of grade 9 (lower secondary), students must pass a national examination and academic and psychological testing in order to enter upper secondary education. The annual promotion to the next grade in senior secondary education is based on tests taken every semester to fulfill the minimum competency criterion, which is determined by the school itself. There is a senior secondary school exam taken at the end of grade 12.

Postsecondary and tertiary:

• Common name: Pendidikan tinggi
• Ages of attendance: Varies
• Number of years: Varies according to degree program
• Universal enrollment: No
• Entrance criteria: Admission to different institutions is dependent on the student's secondary completion certificate and the results of an entrance examination specific to diff-erent state universities.

Common degree programs:

• Sarjana 1 (Scholar 1): 4-year bachelor's degree (4 ½ years plus a 1-year internship in the case of medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, or veterinary science).
• Sarjana 2 or Program Magister (Scholar 2): 2-year master's degree. Student must have first attained a Scholar 1 degree
• Sarjana 3 or Program Doktor (Scholar 3): 3-year doctoral degree. Student must have first attained a Scholar 2 degree
• Diploma 1–4: 1- to 4-year practically oriented programs.
• Program Spesialis I or II (Specialist Program): Practically oriented program, mainly in medical specializations. Number of years varies.

NOTE: There are religious programs that coincide with the Sarjana 1–3 degrees listed above. They are, respectively, the Program Sarjana Agama Islam, Program Magister Agama Islam, and Program Doktor Agama Islam.

Sources:

EP-NUFFIC. (2015). Education System Indonesia: The Indonesian Education System Described and Compared With the Dutch System (3rd version). Retrieved December 23, 2015, from https://www.epnuffic.nl/en/publications/education-system-indonesia.pdf.

Ministry of Education and Culture. (2012). Indonesia. In I. Mullis, M. Martin, C. Minnich, K. Drucker, and M. Ragan (Eds.), PIRLS 2011 Encyclopedia: Education Policy and Curriculum in Reading (vol. 1), pp. 315–323. Chestnut Hill, MA: Lynch School of Education, Boston College, TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center.

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, International Bureau of Education. (2011). World Data on Education, 2010/11 (7th edition). Profile on Indonesia. Paris: Author. Retrieved April 3, 2013, from http://www.ibe.unesco.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Publications/WDE/2010/pdf-versions/Indonesia.pdf.

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