THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT, CURRENT DEVELOPMENT, AND FUTURE CHALLENGES OF DISTANCE EDUCATION IN INDONESIA

When Indonesia proclaimed its independence on August 17, 1945, most of the Indonesian people were illiterate. This condition made it difficult for the newly-established Republic of Indonesia to build a nation. It was realized that education was an important component to free the Indonesian people from ignorance and intellectual impoverishment as the result of colonialism. Even though the Indonesian constitution clearly states that education is a basic right of every citizen, providing access and equity to and participation in education for all Indonesian citizens has not been easy. As an archipelago of more than 13,000 islands and a limited communication and transportation infrastructure, Indonesia was, and is, facing enormous challenges in improving the quality of life and the accompanying education levels of its 220 million people.

The development of distance education in Indonesia is the result of an attempt to meet the national education needs, encouraged by international trends in the use of distance education. Distance education has been, and is, used in formal as well as in nonformal education. It is used at primary, secondary and tertiary level. Distance education has benefited working adults, in-service teachers working in remote areas, minority groups such as women, as well as those people coming from the lower layers of society. Some important developments will now be discussed.

The historical origin of distance education in Indonesia has its roots in the establishment of correspondence teacher training in 1950 in Bandung, West Java. In 1951, more distance education was introduced through school broadcasts to support programs in West Java, designed for those ex-servicemembers whose education had been disrupted during the struggle for independence. An extensive development in the use of distance education for teacher training project was set up by the Department of Education and Culture in 1955 (Setijadi, 1987). The goal was to upgrade teachers through correspondence education.

After the first successful attempts, the use of distance education increased in the 1970s, at a time that the Indonesian government had, due to the oil-boom revenues, the opportunity to increase the budget of the education sector. In the early seventies, the illiteracy rate was very high, while chances to get education were very limited. The situation forced the president to take action by building many elementary schools, as a new decree stated that every child who reached the age of 7 had to attend primary school. The government did not have the financial means to cover all the expenses needed to build school facilities and provide teaching staff. Initiatives were developed in distance education, such as a pilot project on educational broadcasting and the use of printbased, nontraditional instruction for independent study at the primary level. The use of domestic communication satellites, starting in 1974, had positive impact on educational development, and particularly on distance education. As a result, there were about 2,546,000 students graduating from elementary schools in the middle of the 1970s.

This created a new problem. The government had promised to offer every citizen a chance to attend junior high schools, but the existing traditional schools could only accept 71.1%. A solution had to be found. In 1978, the Centre for Educational Communication and Technology was established with the objective to provide increased access to primary and secondary education. Five open junior high schools were established in different areas in the country so as to provide schooling opportunities for those students unable to attend classroom instruction.

At primary level, in the 1970s, the PAM-ONG system (Education for Children by the Community, Parents, and Teachers) was developed for dropout children and those who could not be accepted in regular schools. PAM-ONG was one of the examples of the implementation of distance education at elementary level. It allowed students who completed Grade 4 to study independently, using printed modular materials provided by the government. The involvement of parents and the community as a learning resource in the learning process was encouraged.

The success of the PAMOMG system had encouraged the government to establish open junior high schools to provide educational opportunity for students unable to attend regular secondary education. The idea of the open junior high school was established in 1977, and in 1979 a pilot project was launched (Siahaan, 1999). These open schools are intended for elementary school graduates who cannot attend regular secondary schools because of economic factors, geographical factors, social factors, or a combination of the three. The system has been designed to provide flexibility to the students. Open junior high schools can reach students who live in rural as well as urban areas. This system provides the possibility for the use of teaching and learning resources effectively in each region, including school facilities, human resources, and other learning resources.

The implementation by the government in 1994 of universal primary school education and compulsory education for 9 years brought a positive response toward the implementation of distance education in elementary and secondary levels. Open junior high schools have become one of the important choices to support the implementation of 9-year compulsory education. This improves access and opportunity to attend secondary education without sacrificing the quality of education (Pustekkom, 1999). Being an integrated part of the national education system for elementary and secondary level, the open junior high schools use modules supported by technologies such as audio cassettes, radio programs, slide and video programs, and TV programs, and the same curriculum and evaluation criteria as the traditional junior high schools. Tutorial support is given by the guru bina (subject teacher) and the guru pamong (facilitator/teacher). The open junior high school students spend at least 3 hours a day to study independently at the nearest school or public facility. Once a week the guru bina arranges meetings with the open junior high school students at the school where the former teach regularly.

The open junior high schools use existing facilities; therefore, each of the open junior high schools uses buildings and teachers of the nearby public junior high school. Every open junior high school has several learning centers. The principal of the open junior high school is the principal of a traditional high school; the same holds for the vice principal. Structurally, the open junior high school also has guru binas, guru pamongs, special guru pamongs, guidance counsellors, and administration staff. The guru binas, guidance counsellors, and administration staffs are recruited from the Base School, whereas the guru pamongs are taken from elementary school teachers or the community leaders who help the guru binas in conducting the learning-teaching process at the learning centre. Special guru pamongs are people in the community with specific abilities, skills, or knowledge considered useful for the students. The schools have been considered successful. In 1999, the number of junior high schools all over the country reached 3,773 locations, with 9,721 learning centers (Almunawar, 1999).

Distance education is also used in the religious education context by opening Madrasah Tsanawiyah Terbuka (Islamic-based open junior high schools). These schools provide education for the santri (students of Muslim boarding schools). The system allows students to study religion as well as general knowledge through the Madrasah by using learning resource and local community leaders as the facilitators. Statistics show that there are about 8,991 pondok pesantren with almost 2 million students (santris). About 70% of the santris are at the age of 13-15 years old (Pustekkom, 1999).

Important innovations in distance education for the senior high school level were introduced in 1999 (Ibrahim, 2003). The open senior high school is considered as an alternative for the junior high school graduates who cannot be accepted in the regular high school system. The initial program of the open senior high school began in 2002 in seven public senior schools in various locations (Ibrahim, 2003). The effectiveness of open senior high school is still being evaluated, even though experiences of other countries show that this system can be effectively implemented for students who live in remote areas and geographically unable to reach regular high schools.

At the higher education level, the Directorate General of Higher Education began to use satellite as the medium for distance education programs in 1980. Called the Sisdiksat, the satellite-based education system was aiming at enhancing the quality of education, especially in the eastern part of Indonesia. It was hoped that Sisdiksat could overcome the lack of teachers and also provide learning materials in provinces on the islands of Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Maluku and Papua. The system involved the use of the satellite and tele-blackboard so that the instructor in the Directorate General of Higher Education could interact with other instructors or students all over the institutes in Eastern Indonesia. That same year, the government decided to establish an open university to accommodate the huge number of high school graduates who, until then, had not had the opportunity to enrol in conventional universities. The open university, called Universitas Terbuka (UT), was established in 1984.

The university also used the satellite education system for tutoring distance students in Eastern Indonesia. In 1981, the Directorate General of Higher Education (DGHE) implemented the Diploma II at a distance for in-service junior high school teachers. This program was aimed for upgrading underqualified teachers. The teachers who had been teaching for at least 3 years needed to get further training because their previous education was very limited. The problem was there were no substitute teachers if they should leave the schools to continue their study on campus.

In 1982, the DGHE implemented distance education for university lecturers, called the Akta V. This program was to improve the teaching skills of junior university lecturers. These positive experiences further encouraged the government to establish the UT to provide higher education opportunities for in-service teachers, working adults, and high school graduates. UT has attempted to improve the qualifications and competencies of teachers through the diploma as well as bachelor programs. In its earlier development, UT also offered programs to improve the competencies of junior lecturers in universities through the Akta V program. UT has been a significant innovation in the history of Indonesian higher education, and it deserves further in-depth discussion.

Distance education has been used beyond the formal education sector, such as in agricultural extension and family planning education. It has also been used for vocational on-the-job training, such as in the banking sector, the public sector, as well as other corporate sectors. A variety of programs for nonformal and continuing professional education have been offered at a distance, such as community development programs, personal development programs, and vocational programs. These programs provide the community with the opportunity to continuously improve their knowledge, skills and abilities in the profession.

The 1980s saw the development of a rural satellite project for health and education. In 1981, a program for upgrading junior university lecturers was launched using modular instruction for independent study. In 1983, this program was followed by satellite use for training junior university lecturers.

During the 1990s, an impressive expansion of distance education took place. The introduction of the 9-year compulsory education program in 1994 has had a major impact on the preparation of primary school teachers, who now were able to do a 2-year training at university level, thus improving the level of teaching. As a consequence, those teachers already employed had to enroll in a 2-year postsecondary upgrading program, offered at a distance, and the task of upgrading these in-service teachers at a distance was assigned to UT. The in-service teacher upgrading program included face-to-face tutorials, the use of print and nonprint media, and science kits as the major learning resources for the students.

The beginning of the twenty-first century shows continued progress in distance education. Traditional educational institutions are now often also offering courses via distance education, making it easier for students to enrol. Innovations have been introduced. Here we think about the use of distance education in the curriculum in senior secondary education. In the meantime, experimental open senior high schools have been established in a number of regions and covering various areas of the curriculum (Ibrahim, 2003).

In line with the dynamic changes in social, economic, and technological development of the country, the national education paradigm has also moved progressively toward the establishment of a competent and intelligent knowledge society in Indonesia (Sidi, 2001). In the higher education sector, the vision, mission, policies, and strategies are directed at improving the nation’s competitiveness by creating a healthy, autonomous, and decentralized higher education system, in this way providing increased opportunities and improved access to the students (Brodjonegoro, 2003).

Distance education in Indonesia has seen encouraging continuous progress in terms of innovations, initiatives, and practice, and has contributed concrete results to the development of national human resources. Documentation and dissemination of innovation and research findings in distance education have been undertaken systematically in recent times. The Indonesian Journal of Open and Distance Learning (Jurnal Pendidikan Terbuka dan Jarak Jauh;http://202.159.18.43//ptjj/index.html) has been published twice a year since 2000. UT has also regularly published books in order to disseminate research findings, innovations, current theories, and best practices in distance education. These publications indicate positive signs that distance education continues to flourish, and they provide the direction and theoretical bases for practitioners in the field.

The use of new technology in distance education in Indonesia has been prompted by advances in ICT. Distance education involves substantial use of media because of the separation or distance between the students and the teachers or institution. The use of communication media has increased, although most courses and programs are still print based.

The geographic and demographic conditions of Indonesia have encouraged the use of technology. In many areas, however, access and connectivity are still limited and the computer literacy level of many people is still low, resulting in limited use of technology. In the densily populated areas, the use of technology in distance education has flourished with exploration and application of Internet-based instruction and management systems, pioneered by UT and some other higher education institutions (Andriani et al., 2003; Anggoro, 2004; Anggoro, Hardhono, Belawati & Damayanti, 2001).

Indonesia has a formal organization encouraging the development of quality distance education; the Indonesian Distance Learning Network, incorporating both public and private organisations with stakes in distance education. It is recognized that human resources are the main asset of any distance education organisation, as they play a leading role in innovations and ensure the sustainability of the distance education endeavour. For Indonesia, one of the most recent developments in terms of human resources in distance education has been the establishment of the Professional Association of Indonesian Distance Education, in March 2004.

Distance education in Indonesia has developed to respond to the challenge of improving access to quality education for citizens. Distance education has been used in formal as well as nonformal education and training sectors. Distance education has a strategic role in responding to the dynamic, changing educational needs of the society, in relation to the creating of a knowledge-based society. It is a growing area of educational enterprise, with a growing number of institutions and students. Focus on learners should become an important strategy for the sustainability of a distance education institution. In the distance education context, focusing on learners means understanding issues, such as what they need to learn, how they learn, what sort of learning support they need, how much time they spend on learning, what media they are able to access and use, and what learning styles they have. Education clients in general are today better educated because of the sheer volume of information available and the relatively easy access to different kinds of information.

On the other hand, it is seen that students (clients) have become increasingly critical of the quality of the courses and programs and the student support services provided by distance education institutions. This is, no doubt, influenced by the increase in availability of quality courses and programs, and students thus have a greater choice and are able to select the best services available to suit their needs and circumstances.

It is the task of distance education providers to address issues related to the dynamically changing needs of the stujdents, to make sure that the highest quality standards are respectred, and that technology is used in such a way that it will enrich the program and the learning of the individual student. Distance education institutions are challenged to develop high-quality programs that effectively and efficiently use suitable delivery methods and technology. In this way, they will also be able to meet the growing demand for lifelong learning.

In order to respond to the needs of present and future clients, UT needs to deliver quality products and services, improve its institutional image, and contribute to a positive perception of the society toward distance education. In addition, UT will have to improve its networking and partnerships with other institutions and organisations. Distance education may be an important solution for accelerating development of the education sector, and UT should be able to play a key role as a pioneering distance higher education institution to assist in improving the quality of human resources needed for sustainable development.

Finally, technology seems to be a powerful tool to deliver distance education services, and the challenge is to orient, train, and educate users to be technologically literate and to be able to make use of it in an effective and efficient way to increase their learning endeavour, thus recognizing the role of technology to help distance education students to be successful. Joint effort is needed among stakeholders, as sharing new knowledge and experience using new technology is an expensive endeavor, involving the acquisition of the hardware and software as well as setting up those support mechanisms that make effective use possible. Quality distance education needs technology accessible by its learners. Partnership between stakeholders and students with the industry and ICT providers should enhance the development of distance education and improves not only access and opportunity but also the quality of provision.