Decentralized Basic Education 3

Problem addressed and inputs provided

Launched in July 2005, DBE3 identifies and demonstrate ways to address gaps in the current formal and non-formal education system to help prepare young people for their futures. Problems to be addressed are:

Formal junior secondary students need assistance to prepare for life-long learning, entrance into the workforce and participation in community development. The planned inputs are:  

1. technical assistance to facilitate 400 junior secondary schools’ ability to develop and/or implement lessons building life and workforce skills in engaging, active, and locally relevant ways; and
2. technical assistance and facilitation so junior secondary schools and communities can develop opportunities for students to practice life and workforce skills, such as computer skills, English language skills, and personal financial management skills,  developed through extracurricular activities and service learning activities.

Junior secondary school enrollment rates of 62% (compared with 92% primary enrollment rates) and junior secondary school completion rates of around 70% suggests that many families cannot access or afford junior secondary education for their children, or that they do not think it provides adequate return to investment of money and children’s time. The planned inputs are: 

1. an effective drop-out prevention strategy building on lessons learned and successful approaches from other countries which will include involving the Indonesian Scouts as mentors to youth at risk of dropping out; 
2. the development and dissemination of a tool, with guidelines, that schools can use to identify children at risk of dropping out; and
3. a training module and technical support for district partners to mobilize local resources for school scholarships.

Non-formal education for youth aged 12-18 is needed to emphasize the development of students’ life, civic participation, and workforce skills. The planned inputs are: 

1. technical assistance and facilitation to create links between non-formal education providers, formal education providers and employers, including public private alliances leading to stronger understanding of youth employment issues; 
2. management training and grants for non-formal education institutions/community learning centers; and
3. technical assistance to the Government of Indonesia to make junior secondary equivalency programs more accessible, engaging, and relevant.

Accomplishments and Challenges

DBE3 has conducted a rapid mobilization of the program. DBE3 has provided input into the overall process of selecting DBE’s target districts and school clusters; is mapping junior secondary schools and non-formal education institutions in target areas; and is designing a local needs and resources survey. In Aceh, DBE3 has assessed four Community Learning Centers which offer equivalency packages for young people who have dropped out of school. The Ministry of National Education is interested in strengthening these Centers, and the Centers would like support for additional and improved skills training.

In 2006, DBE3 will:

• Complete its local needs and resource survey and baseline data collection in order to finalize its work plan;
• Design and implement a teacher training module for civic education and service learning as part of the local content curriculum;
• Design and implement a life and workforce skills curriculum for junior secondary schools;
• Identify English training needs and initiate English learning activities;
• Identify computer training needs and initiate training activities;
• Develop manuals and training to support a wider range of student government and peer mediation activities, including integrating service learning activities;
• Develop and field test model parliament clubs in two provinces;
• Develop extracurricular activities promoting life and workforce skills;
• Design and implement drop-out prevention activities with community involvement which are locally appropriate;
• Create a national working group on youth workforce and life skills and hold a national stakeholder consultation on youth employment and youth workforce and life skills;
• Support the development of non-formal education institutions and offer training to strengthen management;
• Promote links between non-formal education institutions and private sector service providers;
• Test and promote ways to use the Packet B equivalency curriculum successfully with youth; and
• Develop public-private alliance plan and generate resources.

All Education activities