PISA gains belie Indonesia’s persistent education crisis
Indonesia continues to struggle with the uneven distribution of teachers, both in numbers and qualifications, particularly those capable of teaching the higher-order thinking skills assessed by PISA.
Indonesia's education system continues to grapple with significant challenges, despite modest gains in the latest Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). The OECD's 2025 PISA report, which evaluates the reading, mathematics, and science proficiency of 15-year-olds, reveals that Indonesia's standing remains poor. Over 760,000 students from 91 countries and economies, including 14,000 from 419 Indonesian schools, participated in the assessment.
Indonesia's science score improved slightly to 389, up six points from 2022, while reading scores rose to 365, a seven-point increase. However, mathematics proficiency dropped by two points to 364. The Government Communications Agency (Bakom) has emphasized these improvements, labeling them as evidence of "stability" in Indonesia's educational performance. Yet, Indonesia's scores continue to sit in the lower half of the assessment and are lower than those recorded over two decades ago.
The persistent learning gaps and unequal quality of education raise concerns about misplaced policy priorities. Despite the modest gains, Indonesia's education system remains marred by disparities in teacher distribution, particularly in terms of numbers and qualifications, especially those capable of teaching higher-order thinking skills assessed by PISA.
Written by urgent.news from The Jakarta Post's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
