Asia
Indonesia has many different types of school systems like the United States with public school, private school, and even vocational-technical schools (VOTECH). Public schools in Indonesia consist of Sekolah Dasar (SD), Sekolah Menengah Pertama (SMP), Sekolah Menengah Atas (SMA), Sekolah Menengah Umum (SMU), and Sekolah Menengah Kejuruan (SMK).
Listed above, in order, students attend from 1 st -6 th grade, 7 th -9 th , and lastly, 10 th -12 th grade. There are also endless options for religious schools offered in Indonesia, as the country believes religion is a core element to the country’s existence. Public schools and private schools are placed under the Ministry of Education and Culture sector, while religious schools are part of the Ministry of Religion found in Indonesia.
SMK mentioned above is equivalent to our Votech at the middle/junior high school level where students acquire a technical skill seeking immediate employment post-graduation, rather than a path leading towards higher education. As Indonesia is highly involved in religion, all schools are given time for prayer and a chance for individuals to connect with their faith in the given school. A designation based on belief is also assigned for any religious belief, whether that be an empty classroom at a certain time, an on-site church/mosque, or any other given space available.
All schools have some sort of dress code on what is required from the students depending on gender. Both males and females have different attire to wear, and certain days require additional uniforms for events or holidays that are different from common uniform days. One huge difference that is important to recognize is that regardless of gender, all bathrooms are unisex, meaning that bathrooms have no exclusion between anyone. The key point to highlight is that the bathrooms are individual rooms where you have a squatting toilet that is designed for both genders; thus making no need for exclusion.
Most Indonesian schools have an attendance policy from Monday-Saturday, starting between 6:30am- 7:30am and ending between 3:30pm (15:30) – 4:30pm (16:30), except for Friday’s being let out during late morning / midafternoon for religious purposes. Addressing schools in Indonesia is also different from other parts of the world, where schools have unique names. Instead, Indonesia titles the school as one of the acronyms above plus a number afterwards, differentiating between each school.
For me, I attended SMA N 8 Yogyakarta, which is how one would state where they study and acknowledging in which city. One similarity between Indonesian education buildings and other regions of the world is that there are rankings on which school provides the best education for that year. This tends to change yearly depending on certain circumstances.
Another unique quality that Indonesia has compared to the West is that students are placed in a classroom and stay put in that classroom each academic year. This means that there are no switching classrooms for students based on subjects, and instead, the instructor comes to your classroom. Praying, sports classes, and bathroom breaks, are the only time you would see
students wandering outside of their classroom. There is one additional exception being that there are “kantin sekolah” or school canteen’s where individuals can sell food/drinks to students. One major difference is that these individuals are private vendors, meaning that the school does not offer them employment and they work there as if they were their own bosses.
If you are wondering about Indonesia’s schooling infrastructure, then it is crucial to understand that the climate for most of Indonesia is warm and humid. Most of the classrooms are open and have minimal air conditioning/circulation. The teacher’s lounge, library, or nurse’s station are where you will find more of the modern accommodations that a basic school in the United States would have. If you are tardy to school, you are sent to the library and are instructed to complete essays until the current instructor’s times finishes in your designated classroom. You are then given a certain amount of time to enter your classroom before the next educator enters your room.
Indonesia’s SMA also have differences between classrooms labeled as either “Social” or “Sciences.” Most of the Social Students are given less guidance for higher education and receive a different type of education compared to the science classes. For my educational learning in Indonesia, I chose the social classroom for my grade. 10 th , 11 th , and 12 th graders during my time at SMA N 8, had only one class for social students and the rest pertained to sciences such as biology, chemistry, physics, etcetera. Social classrooms provide more education in civics, geography, politics, culture, etcetera.
