Current structure

Primary education

1. Early childhood

From birth until the age of 5, Indonesian children do not generally have access to formal education. From the age of 5 to 6 or 7, they attend kindergarten (Taman Kanak-kanak). This education is not compulsory for Indonesian citizens, as the aim of this is to prepare them for primary school. The majority of kindergartens are private schools, with more than forty-nine thousand kindergartens, 99.35% of the total kindergartens in Indonesia, privately operated^[1]. The kindergarten years are usually divided into "Class A" and "Class B" students spending a year in each class.

2. Elementary School

Children ages 7–12 attend Sekolah Dasar (SD) (literally Elementary School). This level of education is compulsory for all Indonesian citizens, based on the national constitution. In contrast to the majority of privately run kindergartens, most elementary schools are government operated public schools, accounting for 93% of all elementary schools in Indonesia^[2]. Similar to education systems in the U.S. and Australia, students must study for six years to complete this level. Some schools offer an accelerated learning program, where students who perform well can finish elementary school in five years.

3. Secondary Education

a. Middle School

Middle School, generally known by the abbreviation "SMP" (Sekolah Menengah Pertama) is part of primary education in Indonesia. After graduating from elementary school, students attend Middle School for three years from the age of 13-15. After three years of schooling and graduation, students may move on to High School or College, or cease formal education. There are around 22,000 schools in Indonesia with a balanced ownership between public and private sector^[3].

b. High School

In Indonesia, generally known as by the abberviation "SMA" (Sekolah Menegah Atas), "SMU" (Sekolah Menengah Umum), and SMK (Sekolah Menengah Kejuruan) . SMA/SMU differ than SMK in their studies. The students at SMU are prepared to advance to tertiary education while students of SMK are prepared to be ready to work after finishing their school without going to university/college. Based on the national constitution, Indonesian citizens do not have to attend high school as the citizens only require nine years of education. This is also reflected by the number of high schools in Indonesia, with just slightly below 9,000 schools^[4].

c. Tertiary education

After graduation from High school or college, students may attend a university.

History

The Dutch introduced a system of formal education for the local population of Indonesia, although this was restricted to certain privileged children. The system they introduced was roughly similar to the current structure, with the following levels:

• ELS (Dutch: Europeesche Lagere School) - Primary School
• MULO (Dutch: Meer Uitgebreid Lager Onderwijs) - Middle School
• AMS (Dutch: Algeme(e)ne Middelbare School) - High School or College

By the 1930s, the Dutch had introduced limited formal education to nearly every province of the Dutch East Indies.