# Analysis of CLCs in Indonesia - Suggestions and Prospects for Japan -

SASAI Hiromi

Senior Researcher, Department of Lifelong Learning Policy, National Institute for Educational Policy Research (NIER)

A law enacted in 2003 defines Indonesia's education system as being composed of three parts; formal education (FE), non-formal education (NFE), and informal education (IFE). Government organizations were set up to precisely respond to the requirements of this law, organizations that are not only within the Department of Education but also in every state, town, and village. Also, the objectives for non-formal education and informal education defined by this law are that they are forms of education "to be practiced through a community-based approach to replace, augment, and supplement formal education." Further, the law states that CLCs (Community Learning Centers) are "one form that non-formal and informal education will take." Based on this, it can be understood that the CLCs in Indonesia are playing a role in promoting awareness of and helping to establish the importance of NFE and its functions. There are more than 5,000 CLCs throughout Indonesia functioning as community-based organizations for promoting NFE and many of them were built by the residents of the local communities.

The survey was implemented at some CLCs in Bandung and Jakarta and its main findings are as follows.

(1) Although the weight carried by the CLCs differs according to the region they are located in, the nature of the activities conducted by CLCs outside of Jakarta is extremely similar. Specifically, they provide education for young children before they go to elementary school, programs for women to increase their incomes, programs to promote industry and business start-ups that utilize the particular characteristics of that region, literacy education, programs to communicate the lifestyles and cultures of the region, and equivalent programs for children who are unable to attend school (education to supplement FE). These measures are in agreement with the objectives found in the education system and government policies and so it can be assumed that to a significant extent they are public sector initiatives.

(2) While the public sector continues to support the establishment and management of many CLCs, they continue to be built by the residents of the local communities, which seems to suggest that compared to other countries these residents are more independently minded and motivated to carry out community activities. On this point, the activities of each CLC are being integrated with the concept of the 'Promotion of Community Development,' and the motivation to increase income, such as through manufacturing and selling handicrafts and farm produce, is supporting each CLC's activities.

(3) The CLCs all establish a library annex that individuals can freely use, meaning that CLCs are becoming known and accepted as places that function for the benefit of local people.

NFE in Indonesia, including activities to promoting it in CLCs, is not passively positioned as simply "education" taking place outside of schools," but rather as having a much more positive and clearly defined significance, as education