Providing Equity of Access to Higher Education in Indonesia: A Policy Evaluation

Ihsan Fadhil(1), Amra Sabic-El-Rayess(2*)

(1) Teachers College, Columbia University
(2) Teachers College, Columbia University
(*) Corresponding Author

Abstract

In the last decade, Indonesia has worked towards expanding access to higher education, but the enrolment of the poor remains negligible with the majority of students in the country’s leading public universities still coming from Indonesia’s wealthiest echelons. Concerned with the issue of equity and access, the government has formulated a new policy calling on all higher education institutions to ensure at least 20% of their newly admitted students are of a low socioeconomic status (SES). The principal challenge the government has faced is a discrepancy between its ambitious political agenda and the policy’s implementation affected by inadequate budgeting, lacking implementation mechanisms, and limited award allocations. This challenge raises a question of whether the Equity and Access Policy can be effectively implemented and, if so, under what conditions can such success be achieved. We thus examine the country’s Equity and Access Policy, education system with its leadership structure, broader institutional framework, and how these factors interact to obstruct the higher education access for the poor in Indonesia. The inadequate policy implementation can impede Indonesia’s human capital development and the country’s economic growth.

Keywords

access; equity; financial aid; higher education; policy implementation

Full Text:

PDF

References

Addison, H. J. (2009). Is administrative capacity a useful concept? Review of the application, meaning and observation of administrative capacity in political science literature. LSE Research Paper.

Andayani, D. (2017). Resmi Ditutup KPU, 27 Parpol Daftar sebagai Peserta Pemilu 2019. Retrieved from: https://news.detik.com/berita/3686991/resmi-ditutup-kpu-27-parpol-daftar-sebagai-peserta-pemilu-2019.

Becker, G. S. (1964). Human capital: A theoretical and empirical analysis, with special reference to education. New York: National Bureau of Economic Research.

Becker, G. S. (1993). Nobel lecture: The economic way of looking at behavior. Journal of Political Economy, 101(3), 385-409.

Boston, T., & NairReichert, U. (2003). Affirmative action: perspectives from the United States, India and Brazil. Western Journal of Black Studies, 27(1), 3.

Brata, R. A. (2014). Why did anticorruption policy fail?: A study of anticorruption policy implementation failure in Indonesia. IAP.

Brewis, E. (2016). Inclusive development in Indonesian higher education reform post 1997, presented at the annual ASEASUK Conference, London, U.K., 2016.

Cam, T., & Van Cao, T. A. (2008). Urban and rural dimensions of income inequality in Vietnam.

Dilas, D. B., Mackie, C., Huang, Y., & Trines, S. (2019). Education in Indonesia. WENR: World Education News+ Reviews, on March, 21.

DGHE (Directorate General of Higher Education) (2017). Laporan Kinerja 2017. Kementerian Riset, Teknologi, dan Pendidikan Tinggi Republik Indonesia.

Doyle, C., & Weale, M. (1994). Education, externalities, fertility and economic growth. Education Economics, 2(2), 129-167.

Dynarski, S. M. (2003). Does aid matter? Measuring the effect of student aid on college attendance and completion. American Economic Review, 93(1), 279-288.

Dynarski, S., & Scott-Clayton, J. (2013). Financial aid policy: Lessons from research (No. w18710). National Bureau of Economic Research.

Elmore, R. F. (1979). Backward mapping: Implementation research and policy decisions. Political Science Quarterly, 94(4), 601-616.

Foucault, M. 1997. “The ethics of the concern of the self as a practice of freedom.” In Michael Foucault ethics: Subjectivity and truth, edited by P. Rabinow, 281–301. New York: New Press.

Gao, S. (2015). The measurement of tertiary education quality in Indonesia through the education production function model and policy recommendations for quality improvement (Doctoral dissertation, University of Pittsburgh).

Goldrick-Rab, S., Harris, D. N., & Trostel, P. A. (2009). Why financial aid matters (or does not) for college success: Toward a new interdisciplinary perspective. In Higher education: Handbook of theory and research (pp. 1-45). Springer, Dordrecht.

Hartog, J., & Oosterbeek, H. (1998). Health, wealth and happiness: Why pursue a higher education?. Economics of Education Review, 17(3), 245-256.

Hjern, B., & Porter, D. O. (1981). Implementation structures: a new unit of administrative analysis. Organization studies, 2(3), 211-227.

Huber, J.D., & McCarty, N. (2004). Bureaucratic capacity and legislative performance. In The Macropolitics of Congress, ed. E. S. Adler and J. S. Lapinski. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Huber, J.D., & McCarty, N. (2004). Bureaucratic capacity, delegation, and political reform. American Political Science Review 98(3):481-94.

ICEF Monitor (2014). Dramatic growth in Indonesia foreshadows greater demand for study abroad. Retrieved from: https://monitor.icef.com/2014/03/dramatic-growth-foreshadows-greater-demand-for-study-abroad-in-indonesia/.

Kosasih, A. (2016). Rich in Natural Resources: Blessed or cursed? Retrieved from: https://www.globalindonesianvoices.com/26912/rich-in-natural-resource-blessed-or-cursed/.

Lipsky, M. (1980). Street level bureaucracy: Dilemmas of the individual in public ser-vice. Russell Sage Foundation.

Logli, C. (2015). Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (Unity in Diversity): Nationalism, ethnicity, and religion in Indonesian higher education. PhD dissertation, University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Logli, C. (2016). Higher education in Indonesia: Contemporary challenges in governance, access, and quality. In The Palgrave handbook of Asia Pacific higher education (pp. 561-581). Palgrave Macmillan, New York.

McDonnell, L. M., & Elmore, R. F. (1987). Getting the job done: Alternative policy instruments. Educational evaluation and policy analysis, 9(2), 133-152.

McLaughlin, M. W. (1987). Learning from experience: Lessons from policy implementation. Educational evaluation and policy analysis, 9(2), 171-178.

MOEC (Ministry of Education and Culture) (2013). Overview of the education sector in Indonesia 2012: Achievements and challenges. Retrieved from: http://perpustakaan.kemdikbud.go.id/opac/index.php?p=show_detail&id=34164&keywords=.

MOEC (2014). Indonesia’s higher education system: How responsive is it to the labor market? Retrieved from: http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/596601468268792237/Indonesias-higher-education-system-how-responsive-is-it-to-the-labor-market.

Moeliodihardjo, B. (2014). Higher education in Indonesia. Jakarta: British Council.

Moratti, M., & Sabic-El-Rayess, A. (2009a). Transitional Justice and DDR: The Case of Bosnia and Herzegovina. International Center for Transitional Justice, 6.

Moratti and Sabic-El-Rayess, A. (2009b). Research Brief: Transitional Justice and DDR: The Case of Bosnia and Herzegovina International Center for Transitional Justice.

Nasution, A. (2016). Government Decentralization Program in Indonesia. ADBI Working Paper 601. Tokyo: Asian Development Bank Institute. Retrieved from: https://www.adb.org/publications/government-decentralization-program-indonesia/.

Negara, S., & Benveniste, L. (2014). Tertiary education in Indonesia: Directions for policy. World Bank. Retrieved from: http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/105061468044074141/Tertiary-education-in-Indonesia-directions-for-policy.

OECD (2013). Structural Policy Country Notes: Indonesia. Retrieved from: https://www.oecd.org/dev/asia-pacific/Indonesia.pdf.

OECD/Asian Development Bank. (2015). Education in Indonesia: Rising to the Challenge. Paris: OECD.

OECD (2020). Secondary graduation rate (indicator). Retrieved from doi: 10.1787/b858e05b-en.

Prakhov, I. (2019). The Determinants of Expected Returns On Higher Education In Russia: A Human Capital Theory Perspective. Higher School of Economics Research Paper No. WP BRP, 50.

QS (2019). Study in Indonesia. Retrieved from: https://www.topuniversities.com/where-to-study/asia/indonesia/guide.

Rahmawati (2016). Implementasi Kebijakan Beasiswa Bidikmisi Tahun 2010-2014 (Policy Implementation Bidikmisi Scholarship year 2010-2014). Jurnal Ilmu Pemerintahan Undip, October 2016.

Republic of Indonesia (2010), National Medium Term Development Plan.(RPJMN/MTDP) 2010-2014, English Version, Book II, Chapter 2, Republic of Indonesia.

Republic of Indonesia (2012), Law of the Republic of Indonesia, Number 12 Year 2012 on Higher Education, Republic of Indonesia.

Republic of Indonesia (2016). Pembuatan UU. Retrieved from: http://www.dpr.go.id/tentang/pembuatanuu.

Retnoningsih, Y.D., & Marom, A. (2014). Analisis Kebijakan Penyelenggaraan Pendidikan Berbasis Uang Kuliah Tunggal Bagi Perguruan Tinggi Negeri Fakultas Ilmu Sosial Dan Ilmu Politik Universitas Diponegoro (Policy Analysis of Needs based Tuition Fees in The Faculty of Social Science and Politics at the University of Diponegoro). Indonesian Journal of Public Policy and Management Review, 2017.

RISTEKBRIN (2016). Distribusi IPK Rata-Rata Nasional Bidikmisi. Retrieved from: https://www.ristekbrin.go.id/infografis/distribusi-ipk-rata-rata-nasional-bidikmisi/.

RISTEKBRIN (2016). Peminat dan Daya Tampung Bidikmisi (2010-2015). Retrieved from: https://www.ristekbrin.go.id/infografis/peminat-dan-daya-tampung-bidikmisi-2010-2015/.

Robichau, R. W., & Lynn Jr, L. E. (2009). The implementation of public policy: Still the missing link. Policy Studies Journal, 37(1), 21-36.

Sabatier, P. A. (1986). Top-down and bottom-up approaches to implementation re-search: a critical analysis and suggested synthesis. Journal of public policy, 6(1), 21-48.

Sabatier, P., & Mazmanian, D. (1980). The implementation of public policy: A framework of analysis. Policy studies journal, 8(4), 538-560.

Sabatier, P.A., & Mazmanian, D.A. (1989). Implementation and Public Policy. Landham, MD: University Press of America.

Sabic-El-Rayess, A. (2009). Internationalization in the educational system of a weak state:

examining multiple identities of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s higher education. Intercultural Education, 20(5), 419-428.

Sabic-El-Rayess, A. (2011). Powerful friends: Educational corruption and elite creation in post-war Bosnia and Herzegovina. Research Brief.

Sabic-El-Rayess, A. (2012). Making of a voiceless youth: Corruption in Bosnia and Herzegovina's higher education (Doctoral dissertation, Columbia University). Retrieved from: https://academiccommons.columbia.edu/doi/10.7916/D8K361NJ.

Sabic-El-Rayess, A., & Otgonlkhagva, S. (2012). School uniform cost reduction study: Standardization, simplification and supply Policy. Retrieved from: https://academiccommons.columbia.edu/doi/10.7916/d8-6e50-8257.

Sabic-El-Rayess, A. (2013). When corruption gets in the way: Befriending diaspora and EUnionizing Bosnia's higher education. European Education, 45(2), 6-27. Retrieved from: http://etico.iiep.unesco.org/sites/default/files/ETICO000495.pdf.

Sabic-El-Rayess, A. (2014). Acting and reacting: Youth's behavior in corrupt educational

settings. Peabody Journal of Education, 89(1), 70-85. Retrieved from: https://sabicelrayess.files.wordpress.com/2016/04/acting-and-reacting-2014.pdf.

Sabic-El-Rayess, A. (2016a). Merit matters: Student perceptions of faculty quality and

reward. International Journal of Educational Development, 47, 1-19. Retrieved from: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED596461.pdf.

Sabic-El-Rayess, A. (2016b). Who gets radicalized? What I learned from my interviews with extremist disciples. Retrieved from: https://academiccommons.columbia.edu/doi/10.7916/d8-c3p7-ke50.

Sabic-El-Rayess, A., & Mansur, N. N. (2016). Favor reciprocation theory in education: New corruption typology. International Journal of Educational Development, 50, 20-32. Retrieved from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0738059316300566.

Sabic-El-Rayess, A., & Seeman, A. M. (2017). America's familial tribalism. Retrieved from: https://academiccommons.columbia.edu/doi/10.7916/d8-7jt8-mh87.

Sabic-El-Rayess, A., Mansur, N. N., Bat-khuyag, B., & Otgonlkhagva, S. (2019). School uniform policy’s adverse impact on equity and access to school-ing. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 1-18.

Sabic-El-Rayess, A. (2019). Role of education in financial inclusion of poor and unbanked women in India. Indonesian Journal on Learning and Advanced Edu-cation (IJOLAE), 1(2), 72-90. Retrieved from: http://journals.ums.ac.id/index.php/ijolae/article/view/8413.

Sabic-El-Rayess, A. (2020). Epistemological shifts in knowledge and education in Is-lam: A new perspective on the emergence of radicalization amongst Mus-lims. International Journal of Educational Development, 73, 102148. Retrieved from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0738059319306261.

Sabic-El-Rayess, A. and N. Mansur (2020). From educational displacement to re-placement: Educational disengagement theory of radicalization, Working Paper.

Schultz, T. W. (1961). Investment in human capital [Presidential address delivered at the annual meeting of the American Economic Association, Saint Louis, MO, December, I960]. The American Eco-nomic Review, 51, 1-17.

Schultz, T. W. (1981). Investing in people: The economics of population quality. Los Angeles: University of California Press.

Smith, K. B., & Larimer, C. W. (2008). The public policy theory primer. Westview press.

Solmon, L. C. (1975). The relation between schooling and savings behavior: An example of the indirect effects of education. In Education, income, and human behavior (pp. 253-294). NBER.

Tran, H. T. M. (2019). Women’s health: a benefit of education in Australia. Health Education.

Turner, R. H. (1960). Sponsored and contest mobility and the school system. American Sociological Review, 855-867.

University of Gadjah Mada. (2012). Rekapitulasi mahasiswa S1 reguler baru, terdaftar, dan lulusan (Report on students in undergraduate degrees-enrolled and graduated).

University of Gadjah Mada. (2016). Rekapitulasi mahasiswa S1 reguler baru, terdaftar, dan lulusan (Report on students in undergraduate degrees-enrolled and graduated).

Van der Klaauw, W. (2002). Estimating the effect of financial aid offers on college enrollment: A regression–discontinuity approach. International Economic Review, 43(4), 1249-1287.

Welch, A. (2012). The limits of regionalism in Indonesian higher education. Asian Education and Development Studies, 1(1), 24.

World Bank (1998). Indonesia: Education in Indonesia, from Crisis to Recovery. Washington, DC: World Bank.

World Bank (2019). School enrollment, tertiary (% gross) - Indonesia. Retrieved from: https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.TER.ENRR?locations=ID).

Yulianto, A. (2017). The Implementation of Higher Education Autonomy in Indonesia: Problems and Challenges. European Journal of Research and Reflection in Management Sciences, 5(3), 39-50.

DOI: 10.23917/ijolae.v3i1.10376

Article Metrics

Abstract view(s): 4402 time(s)
PDF: 2438 time(s)

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.