Laws and Other Basic Regulations Concerning Education

The Constitution of 1945 stipulates in Article 31 that every citizen has the right to education and that the government provides a national education system which is arranged by law.

The Law No. 2/1989 provides the foundation for one national education system to be universally implemented in a complete and totally integrated manner: universal means open to all people and valid throughout the country; complete means to cover all channels, levels and types of education; and integrated means that there are mutual supporting links between all types and levels of national education, and development efforts.

The Law No. 2/1989 provides the foundation for one national education system to be universally implemented in a complete and totally integrated manner: universal means open to all people and valid throughout the country; complete means to cover all channels, levels and types of education; and integrated means that there are mutual supporting links between all types and levels of national education, and development efforts.

The National Guidelines of the State Policy of 1993 stress that national development is based on the trilogy of development, i.e. equity, economic growth and national stability.

The Presidential Decree of 1994 on the Declaration of universal nine-year basic education marked the implementation of the new nine-year compulsory basic education programme.

The Decision of the People’s Consultative Assembly No. IV of 1999 on the Broad Outlines of State Policy (known as GBHN 1999) reiterates the need to conduct a reform of the education system, including curriculum reform which consists of: (i) diversification of curricula to cater to the different children’s needs; (ii) development of the national curriculum as well as local curricula to suit local interests; and (iii) diversification of the types of education according to varied professions.

The Law No. 22 of 1999 on Local Governance (effective since January 2001) is the legal basis for the decentralization of authority from the central government to the district/municipal governments. According to the Government Regulation No. 25 of 2000, the central government is responsible for setting national policies, standards, supervision, and guidelines.

The Government Regulation No. 60 of 1999 on Higher Education provides a wider basis for the autonomous management of resources and for the running of higher learning institutions. The Government Regulation No. 61 of 1999 on Higher Education Institution as a State-owned Corporate Body (BHMN) gives the opportunity to any public higher education institution to propose a change in its legal status in order to become a non-profit making BHMN or a corporate higher learning institution, with borader management autonomy including fund raising.

According to the Law No. 2/1989 and the Government Regulation No. 28/1990, basic education is a general education programme with a duration of nine years, i.e. six years of primary education and three years of junior secondary education. The nine-year compulsory basic education programme will attempt to provide education for every Indonesian aged 7-15 years. Compulsory education in Indonesia relies on the following specific characteristics: (a) the persuasive approach; (b) the moral responsibility of parents and students, so that they feel obliged to attend school; (c) regulations that are not based on compulsory education law; and (d) the use of measurement of success based on a macro view, i.e. increasing the participation rate in basic education.