TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – More than 50 delegates from 20 countries are attending “Gateways Study Visit Indonesia” held in Bali, Indonesia, October 1-3, 2024. Under the theme ”Beyond Tech Intervention: Navigating Indonesia’s Education Transformation”, Indonesia, as the host, shares its systematic effort to transform the learning process.
“Indonesia has entered a new paradigm where technology is an integral and inseparable element in our strategy to transform the system,” said Iwan Syahril, Director General of Early Childhood Education, Primary Education and Secondary Education in his speech on Tuesday, October 1, 2024.
Frank van Cappelle, Head of Unicef Global Learning Innovation Hub, Global Lead, Digital Education acknowledges the efforts of Indonesia in education transformation. “Indonesia has been a leading country in the Gateways to Public Digital Learning Initiative from the start,” he said.
Gateways Initiative is a program initiated by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) that was launched in 2022, where they work with governments and partners on establishing digital education as a public good through high quality, inclusive national digital learning platforms, and content. And the Gateways Study Visit Indonesia is part of the program.
According to Frank van Cappelle, the world is changing rapidly and that the physical boundaries of education are fading. Education now fits in the digital spaces just as much as it fits in the physical spaces. “This is very much the case of Indonesia, where digital education has already reached tremendous scale and impact,” he said.
In a session, Iwan Syahril highlighted what the Indonesian government has developed in the past five years. One of them is the technology ecosystem that focuses on developing the capacity of teachers so that they can teach students better.
During Covid-19 pandemic, Indonesia ranked second globally as the country that experienced a learning loss of 644 days. The Education Ministry has intervened in education transformation through “Merdeka Belajar” which carries a vision to create lifelong learners with good characteristics. “We have made radical changes in the approach to technology,” he said.
First, Iwan explained, technology must be part of the program design, not just an addition. The government also prioritizes the interests of users, both in terms of quality, performance, reliable applications,and user-friendly design.
The Indonesian government created the Independent Teaching Platform (PMM) to improve the competency of teaching that fits students’ needs. “It has assisted 4 million teachers,” he said. Currently, 4,3 people are actively using PMM, where 52 percent of them are in rural areas.
Maki Katsuno-Hayashikawa, Director and Representative of Unesco in Jakarta also recognizes the hard work of Indonesia in transforming education in the country. She recalled how Indonesian Education Minister Nadiem Makarim expressed his belief that public education needs to extend into digital and online spaces. “This is precisely what the Gateways Initiative is all about: making sure that public education is supported online as well as offline, and ensuring that digital offering complement and enrich the essential work that happens in-person in school,” she said.
She ensures that all delegates will learn how Indonesia has used technology and innovative platforms to achieve progress in crucial areas, from supporting teachers and learners to putting better data in the hands of school leaders and making educational procurement more efficient. “It’s truly a story of transformation,” she said.
Editor’s note: This article has been edited for revision and additional information.
Purwani Diyah Prabandari
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