"What we need are affirmative policies so that schools and disadvantaged groups can experience rapid progress without hindering the progress of other schools nationally," Head of the ministry's Educational Standards, Curriculum, and Assessment Agency (BSKAP), Anindito Aditomo, stated.
Aditomo conveyed the statement at the Forum on Education and Learning Transformation (FELT) in Jakarta on Monday.
He noted that education can give rise to or even worsen inequalities in the community by not preparing children in the lower middle class to reap the benefits of schooling.
He assessed that the middle ground to anticipate this condition is to prepare affirmative education policies that prioritize students' achievements as a benchmark and not the socioeconomic background of students' families in the school environment.
In this way, the education system contributes as a compensator for inequalities.
One form of affirmative policy is the school zoning enrollment system, which came into effect in 2017. He assessed that the method is successful in desegregating new student admission pathways which were earlier only focused on reputable schools.
"Previously, most students with good economic conditions pursued reputable schools, thereby leaving students who are not rich to be enrolled in average schools," he explained.
Meanwhile, he stated that the zoning policy provides opportunities for those living near prestigious schools to be enrolled there.
He assessed that the zoning policy presents diversity in the socioeconomic backgrounds of schools, which will eventually make their characteristics similar and create new reputable schools.
Furthermore, he stated that the contribution of socioeconomic conditions to achievements in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is also slowly declining as compared to 2015. Hence, students' backgrounds become a weaker predictor of their achievements.
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Translator: Hana Dewi, Raka Adji
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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