The Education System in Indonesia

The Ministry of National Education administers all educational policies, guidelines and implementation in Indonesia. All citizens in the country have to finish 9 years of education, 6 years at elementary level and 3 in middle school. The constitution stated that education in the country is divided into two parts, formal and non-formal. A formal education is divided again into three levels, primary, secondary and tertiary education.

Children with ages 5 to 6 or 7, attend kindergarten. It is not mandatory for Indonesian toddlers but the objective is to train them for primary school. Normally, the kindergarten years are divided into "Class A" and "Class B" pupils spending a year in each class. Indonesian attends elementary school from ages 7-12. Based on the national constitution, this stage of education is mandatory to all Indonesian citizens.

Part of main education in Indonesia is called Middle School. From ages 13-15 students attend Middle School for 3 years after graduating from elementary school. Indonesian citizens are not required to attend high school based on the national constitution, since they only need 9 years of education. Students may attend to a university after finishing from high school or college.

Higher education method in the country consists of college or academy, polytechnic, institute and university. The objective of professional education is to train the students to master certain knowledge and/or capability and it consists of Diploma Education.