REFORMING BASIC EDUCATION AND THE STRUGGLE FOR DECENTRALIZED EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION IN INDONESIA

The needs of its rapidly developing economy are pressing the Indonesian government for educational reform. Notable achievements in education (e.g. near universal access) seem, since the mid-1980s, to have reached a plateau and to have been eroded in several respects (e.g.declining enrollment, stagnant per pupil spending). This article provides a description and a managerial audit of the administrative systems for basic education. A brief analysis of the experience with two, alternative strategies for reform (unified authority with deconcentration; delegate and devolve) suggests that the outlook for reform in the administrative apparatus above the school level is bleak.