The high school national exam results are in.  Three out of ten junior high school students in Jakarta failed their national exams.  Across the country only three provinces have schools with pupils that pass the exams.  There are even 561 schools in Indonesia where the pass rate is zero percent, i.e. not a single pupil sitting the exam managed to get the minimum mark to pass the exams.  Moreover, it is not as if the country has a high standard of education to begin with.  Those who pass the exams are not necessarily bright or equipped with the right education needed in today’s world.

The question is, do we even have enough educated educators to give our children the education they need?  As a matter of fact, do we have enough educated people around to make good policies in this country at all?  How could we expect to have well educated children when many of our lawmakers and those in position of power are badly in need of education themselves?

The thing is fifty percent of the Indonesia’s population entering the work force only finishes elementary school, with the others pocketing at the most a high school certificate.  A minuscule number attain a university degree.  And we haven’t even talked about the actual quality of the schools, the teachers and the quality of the curriculum we subject the children to.