Unsustained Cooperation.Collaboration between government agen-
cies concerned with early childcare and education is sparse and
intermittent.Poor Staffing.The quantity, quality, and distribution of personnel for
delivering early childcare and education services are insufficient.The government and education sectors in Indonesia are respond-
ing to these challenges, as described below.
ECD Policies and Programs
The MONE has outlined overall policy directions for education, which
are defined in the National Medium-Term Development Plan of
2004–2009. This plan denotes three developmental targets: improved
equality and expansion, improved quality and relevance, and in-
creased governance and accountability. The specific goals are to:
- Increase expansion of, and more equitable access to, education
services - Increase the quality of education services
- Increase the relevance of education to national development
- Strengthen the effectiveness and efficiency of managing and
providing education services.
In the National Medium-Term Development Plan of 2004–2009,
the government has developed a strategic plan for early childhood
education for 2005–09. The government has identified equity and ex-
pansion of access to ECE services as a main development objective for
its education sector.
Increasing the provision of nonformal services to children living be-
low the poverty line—by giving incentives to private sector providers
to deliver ECE services—is one focus of this objective.Indonesia: Public Financing of Block Grants for Privately Delivered Services 237