secondary schools, targeting the poor and improving the quality of teaching.<sup>2</sup> The following sections provide an in-depth analysis of these challenges.

# _Reducing Inequality in Enrollment Levels_

Indonesia’s past enrollment expansion closed the gap across income groups at the primary education level, but striking inequalities remain at the junior and senior secondary levels. In 2005 the primary school (SD) enrollment rates were 105 percent gross and 91 percent net. Problems with access become more significant at the junior secondary school level, where there is a considerable discrepancy in enrollments among income quintiles (Figure 1). A child coming from a poor family is 20 percent less likely to be enrolled in a junior high than a non-poor child.<sup>3</sup> Officially, basic education (grades 1–9) is compulsory for children aged 7–15, but the main issue in terms of access to education concerns the transition to junior secondary schooling.<sup>4</sup> Figure 1 Enrollment Rates by Income Groups - Primary and Junior Secondary Education <!-- Start of picture text --> 1 Primary School Net Enrollment 0.9 Junior Secondary Net Enrollment<br>0.8<br>0.95<br>0.7<br>0.9<br>0.6<br>0.85 0.5<br>0.4<br>0.8<br>0.3<br>0.75<br>0.2<br>0.7 0.1<br>1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 0<br>1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005<br>1 (Poor) 2 3 4 5 1 (Poor) 2 3 4 5<br>E nrollm ent Rate<br>E nro llm ent Ra te<br><!-- End of picture text --> _Source_ : World Bank staff calculations with Susenas 2005 core data.

Despite an impressive increase in enrollment at the national level, regional differences remain significant. In a country as large, spread out, and diverse as Indonesia, differences among regions are to be expected. Although more than 90 percent of Indonesia’s children have access to primary schools, some regions have been lagging for sustained periods and thus need extra assistance. In 2004 net enrollment rates in primary education ranged from approximately 80 percent in the province of Papua to about 95 percent in Kalimantan Tengah. At the junior secondary level, net enrollment rates varied from about 41 percent in Papua to approximately 77 percent in D.I Yogyakarta, and at the senior secondary level, from around 20 percent in Sulawesi Barat to approximately 62 percent in D.I. Yogyakarta. However, the disparities are even greater within provinces than between provinces.

# _Improving Quality of Education_

The quality of schooling in Indonesia is low and education infrastructure is deteriorating. Some important determinants of education quality that need to be addressed include the level of teacher qualification, the structure of teacher compensation, class-room quality, teacher attendance rates,

> 2 Indonesia’s Education For All goals are: (i) enrolling all students through to the end of junior secondary level, (ii) ensuring that poorer and disadvantaged children have full and equal access to schools that provide an appealing learning environment and effective instruction, and (iii) providing education that is of acceptable quality and is relevant to Indonesia’s economy and society.

> 3 World Bank, Poverty Assessment (2006)

> 4 Tertiary education is not part of the scope of this paper. Total gross enrollment rates at the tertiary education level are very low, a mere 16 percent. The poorest quintile has a negligible enrollment of 1 percent, whereas the richest quintile’s enrollment is close to 50 percent.

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