
Hard times for pesantren facing Covid-19
Education, Policy in Focus, Public health, ReligionIslamic boarding schools are among the worst affected by the pandemic, writes Professor Jamhari Makruf.

Can the Covid-19 pandemic boost inclusive education?
Education, Human Rights, LawDr Dina Afrianty, Slamet Thohari, Tommy Firmanda and Mahalli write that the Covid-19 pandemic may force teachers to get up to speed with technology that can improve access to education for students with disabilities.

Arief Budiman, activist, public intellectual and scholar (1941-2020)
Education, Politics, SocietyProminent public intellectual and leading critic of the Soeharto regime Arief Budiman died on 23 April. Professor Vedi Hadiz reflects on the life of the dissident academic and Foundation Professor of Indonesian Studies at the University of Melbourne.

Girls do better than boys at school in Indonesia – if they get the chance
Analysis, Education, GenderIndonesian girls are now outperforming boys in both literacy and numeracy in the early grades. But as Senza Arsendy and George Sukoco write, the picture is more complicated at the high school level.

Sex education and swimming pools: child commissioner’s blunder shows need for change
Education, Policies, Public health, SocietyA laughable claim about the danger of falling pregnant in swimming pools raises serious concerns about the state of adolescent sexual and reproductive health in Indonesia, writes SurveyMETER’s Dwi Oktarina

Deaf students demand rights as a minority language group
Education, Human Rights, Linguistics, Policies, SocietyHigh university drop-out rates for deaf students point to the need for education in their mother tongue, writes Alies Poetri Lintangsari.

Mother-tongue language education: improving education quality while preserving culture
Analysis, EducationBahasa Indonesia is the mother tongue of less than 10 per cent of the Indonesian population. Senza Arsendy makes the case for greater use of local languages in the education of young students.

In the zone: making education fairer
Analysis, EducationThe government has recently implemented a new school zoning policy in an attempt to reduce educational inequality. It's a good start, writes Senza Arsendy, but more work is needed to ensure all students have access to quality education.

Is education reform finally paying off for Indonesian kids?
Analysis, Economy, Education, Policy in Focus, SocietyHow much do parents’ education levels affect the schooling of their children? Senza Arsendy presents the results of a recent study showing that despite concerns over the impact of growing economic inequality, educational mobility increased from 1997 to 2015.