Jakarta. Indonesia needs to pay attention to developing its early childhood education if it wishes to achieve a golden era by its centennial in 2045, and this calls for a multi-stakeholder collaboration.

According to UNICEF Indonesia’s country representative Manisa Zaman, children need to have access to early childhood education.

“The first years of life really shape a child’s future and a generation. It will determine what will happen to them later in life, including in terms of education, jobs, and whether they will be productive,” Maniza said in the “Unlocking Potential” program presented by the philanthropic organization Tanoto Foundation. 

Babies’ brains are only a quarter of that of an adult. Their brains will double in size once they are a year old. A baby’s brain is capable of making a million new connections every second. The first thousand days of a child are also a golden opportunity for growth and development.

At the age of five, a child's brain development has reached 90 percent. Research showed a child who attends preschool would do better in school, be more confident, and even become a productive citizen in the future. A child without early childhood education would perform poorly at school or even drop out.

“One year of pre-school learning really lays the foundation for numeracy, literacy, and character building. The benefits are incredible,” said Maniza.

“These early years are important to maximize a child’s potential. This is the right time to invest in early childhood. Imagine what Indonesia will get if that investment starts and for the future.”

Early childhood education is crucial for a country as big as Indonesia. In economic terms, every Rp 1 invested in its development will yield four times the profit. About 20 years from now, Indonesia’s population is predicted to reach 380 million people. Around 60 percent of that number are of productive age, thus granting Indonesia a demographic bonus.

“That means we have to prepare now. The future workforce is being born now or will be born soon. Timing is important if Indonesia wants to generate a demographic bonus,” Maniza said.

Challenges in Integrated Early Childhood Education

Indonesia is developing an integrated and holistic early childhood education program that not only teaches children but also provides nutrition and health services. Indonesia is also mulling making 13-years of education --including pre-schools-- mandatory.

There are, however, still many challenges. Only 35 percent of children aged 3-6 years have access to early childhood education. Pre-schools are also quite rare in Indonesian remote areas. The government also set aside little state money to develop early childhood education, only making up 0.8 percent of the total state budget for the education sector. This is far below the 10-percent international benchmark.

Many pre-schools also still lack quality teachers. This is a result of assumptions that preschool teachers do not require good qualifications. Only 60 percent of preschool teachers have a bachelor’s degree, data showed. A lot of parents do not consider enrolling their children in preschools as important. Indonesia also needs to make sure that its preschools are affordable for everyone at all levels.

All these challenges call for greater support and investment from multiple stakeholders, including the government, private sector, non-governmental organizations and philanthropic institutions. UNICEF and the government had worked together at the regulatory and infrastructure levels. It made use of technology to campaign good early childhood education practices and preschool learning materials. Companies where the parents work also play a role.

“Companies should come up with family-friendly policies. … Happy employees mean a successful business,” Maniza said.

The private sector can also use all resources to increase the number of early childhood education services or provide technical support, assets, and experts. Non-governmental and non-profit organizations take advantage of their networks to improve the quality of preschools. The role of community leaders and religious leaders is no less crucial in providing motivation and enthusiasm for parents to carry out good parenting.

"All of this can amplify the message about the importance of early childhood education for the future of a nation and show that every party has a role to play in it," Maniza said.