Dessy Aswim – Indonesia's school children are paying the price for entrenched official corruption, with inadequate schools and teaching hindering learning, activists say.
Febri Hendri, a researcher at Indonesia Corruption Watch, said at a discussion in Jakarta on Wednesday that with one in three Indonesians still of school age, young people are paying the price for endemic corruption.
He noted that Indonesia had dipped in global education rankings, despite the government allocating 20 percent of its budget to education, blaming a lack of transparency in education management.
"We are worried a large amount of money will go missing ahead of the election in 2014," Febri said.
ICW claimed that as much as 60 percent of the education budget is siphoned off in graft-ridden deals, meaning the increased funding does not lead to improved performance.
"Why, despite the higher budget allocated for education, has there been little reform?" Febri asked.
Weilin Han, a nationwide school consultant, said funds were not getting to schools and students.
"I can't really say that corruption has got worse but I can say the budget is not being used wisely," she said. Education Minister Muhammed Nuh has championed a new curriculum emphasizing religious and moral education over practical subjects like English and science. Critics have attacked the new priorities and say teachers will receive inadequate training ahead of implementation.
Initially designed to be spread across the whole country, the curriculum will now only be implemented this year in a small fraction of schools. Just 10 percent of teachers will receive specific training.
Febri said programs such as new curriculums are sometimes created just to camouflage corrupt officials' efforts to get more funding. "Sometimes the programs are necessary – but not a priority.
What's needed now is access. Improving the quality of educators is of utmost importance," Febri said.
Weilin said many teachers lack formal training and lack motivation to inspire pupils.
"We are short of qualified teachers and many in the profession are guided not by a desire to share knowledge but the hope of a civil service position that offers salary and security," she said.
She added that teachers and educators need to be empowered to rebuild the crumbling education system, with guidance provided by qualified trainers.
To combat corruption, Weilin called for greater transparency, arguing that embezzlement often occurred in closed-door meetings between legislators and bureaucrats.
The poor quality of school buildings has also been blamed on corruption, with occasional reports of roofs and walls in dilapidated buildings collapsing, sometimes injuring students and often interrupting classes. Many are ill-suited to the heavy rains of the nation's wet season.
The national exams, meanwhile, have been criticized for lacking critical thinking assessments and encouraging a culture of teaching for the test where students prepare by the rote learning of dates, facts, figures and formulae.