West Papua education level is a means in preparing human resources for the development of West Papua. Education plays an important role in alleviating poverty and providing skills to the entire community to reach their potential optimally.
The implementation of education in remote areas will be able to bridge the cultural gap in society through the culture of learning in schools. Education development in West Papua has an important and strategic role by the constitutional mandate.
This is also confirmed in Law no. 20 of 2003 article 49 paragraph (1). It reads that education funds are allocated at least 20 percent of the APBN and at least 20 percent of the APBD. Therefore, the government prioritizes the development of educational attainment in West Papua.
School Participation Rates in West Papua Education Level
In general, the level of education in West Papua is better than in Papua. However, this value is still far from other provinces in Indonesia. School participation rates for the ages of 7-12 years and 13-15 years (basic education) in 2013 tend to be evenly distributed.
Most of these children have attended basic education. The average school enrollment rate for West Papua Province in 2013 was 95.58 percent for ages 7-12 years and 92.81 percent for ages 13-15 years.
The district in West Papua Province that has the lowest primary education school enrollment rate is Teluk Wondama Regency, which is 71.93 percent. This means that there is still 28.07 percent of children aged 7-13 years who are not in school.
School enrollment rates in West Papua aged 7-13 years are better than in Papua. However, learning activities in primary schools are also not going well, especially in remote areas. West Papua education level is certainly below other provinces.
The shortage of teachers is one of the obstacles to not maximizing basic education in West Papua. The successful implementation of education programs in remote areas can be done by improving facilities and support for teachers.
Lack of information about the education development in the regions leads to public ignorance. They do not know the aims and objectives of the education program organized by the government. This is also influenced by the low participation and awareness to get an education.
Factors Inhibiting the Development of West Papua Education Level
Several factors hindering education in West Papua Province include limited capacity for planning, budgeting, monitoring, and assessing the government in education. The shortage of qualified teaching staff and teaching facilities are also barriers to education.
An unsupportive learning environment and the unequal distribution of teachers also need to be improved. For this reason, the government must prioritize the West Papua education development.
The priority for the development of the education sector, especially basic education in West Papua, is to provide access to quality education for students. In addition, it also increases the professionalism of teachers in teaching.
In 2015 West Papua has received an additional 70 elementary school teachers from the central government who will be placed in districts experiencing teacher shortages. These areas include South Manokwari, Tambrauw, Sorong, and Raja Ampat regencies.
The achievement of the West Papua education level has an effect on the average length of school and literacy rates as an indicator of the success of development by the MDGs in West Papua Province.
The average length of schooling in West Papua Province is 8 years, the same as the national average length of schooling. The average population of West Papua only attends up to grade 2 of junior high school or drops out of primary education.
They do not continue to secondary education. Meanwhile, the literacy rate of West Papua Province in 2009-2013 was around 93 percent and continued to increase in line with the increase in the national literacy rate.
The Effect of Literacy Rate on West Papua Education Level
The low literacy rate and the average length of schooling in West Papua are partly due to the condition of West Papua with low accessibility so that the growth in the achievement of the components of the literacy rate and average length of schooling is slow.
Several factors have also contributed to the low school enrollment rate, literacy rate, and average length of schooling in West Papua Province, such as the low funding for education support due to the inappropriate allocation.
In addition, the availability of service units and the capacity of implementing activities also led to low growth in literacy rates. The support of difficult geographical conditions also makes things complicated in the provision of inadequate teaching staff.
The impact of low school enrollment rates, literacy rates, and the average length of schooling affects labor productivity in West Papua Province. This is what causes the low West Papua education level.
Keyword: West Papua Education Level
Description: West Papua education level is below the other provinces and it needs to be improved soon