Markit wrote
I'm gonna call foul on this unless you can come up with some convincing information to back this statement up.
My experience with the products o[B]f such schools is basically what you'd expect from a school "system" (and I use the term loosely) where the teachers come to work or don't as and when they want[/B] but get paid, admittedly a pittance, a salary for life. The children are taught (I also use this term loosely) by rote and "understanding" is not a major component of the schooling process.
I'm happy for the Indonesians with this as I see no chance or necessity for any of them to have to compete on an international scale with graduates of Harvard/Oxford/Yale/LSE/etc. I suspect most of them are happy to live on their own warm little islands in the sun without the Mercedes cars/gold jewelry/international jetting/top capitalistic life-styles/etc.
Now should someone come here from the west with school aged children and want to school them for a time in local schools I always advise them to bring a squee-gee so the kids can at least learn how to clean windows for when they return to the west with their Indonesian "education " and I use this term also. loosely.
Indonesia has numerous schools for children, and what you said applies to those in remote villages or smaller cities. However, there are also top-tier schools, mostly located in major cities such as Jakarta, Surabaya, Medan, and Makassar. These schools are often managed by religious-based charities, churches, or local government authorities. Admission to these schools typically requires students to be exceptionally bright, talented, and/or have the financial means. It sometimes involves donation and/or bribery to secure entry. But for bribery route, beside it is illegal, only a few would be able to effort that; so the vast majority of graduates are still good.
Some notable examples include:
[LIST]
[*][B]Jakarta[/B]: SMAN 8 Jakarta, SMAS Kanisius, SMAN 2, SMA Kristen Penabur
[*][B]Surabaya[/B]: SMA Katolik ST. Louis, SMAN 5, SMAN 15
[/LIST]
Studying abroad at top universities is a challenge for many Indonesians, as it demands both intelligent and financial resources. Many Indonesians cannot afford the high tuition and living costs to study abroad, which are beyond the reach of average families. But every year, the Indonesian government offers limited number, around 7,000 scholarships for students to study at prestigious universities worldwide, including the ones you mentioned.
There is no concrete evidence that graduates from international schools (or Multi cultural schools) in Indonesia have an edge over those from Indonesian top-tier local schools when applying to prestigious universities worldwide. International school students would only gain an advantage in English (and some other languages) mastery due to daily practice and usage. While language proficiency is important but normal students study at top-tier schools, could take additional language courses to improve their foreign language proficiency. It is rare to hear (if any) of Indonesian students who graduated from multicultural. international high school schools in Indonesia be able to compete with graduates from the country's top-tier schools for scholarships to study at prestigious universities worldwide or even to study at the prestigious state universities in Indonesia. You can not compare international, multi cultural school in Indonesia with top independent schools such as Eton College, King's College School, Westminster School, etc they are not anywhere near in term of admission and the quality of graduate.
Some Indonesians who graduate from local schools successfully secure scholarships from top universities, competing internationally with students from other countries. A notable example of this is the daughter-in-law of the current president. Another example of the product of Top-tier local school is the result of International Physics Olympiad (See attached)
Top universities aren't limited to the US and UK; some are located in Asia, other part of Europe, Australia, and Canada. Examples include ETH Zurich, TU_Delf, Tsinghua University, the National University of Singapore (NUS), Peking University, Nanyang Technological University (NTU), the University of Tokyo, etc. These are among the institutions where the Indonesian government sends its brightest young talents to pursue higher education abroad. These students typically graduate from Indonesia's traditional top-tier local schools.
The information I have provided is easily verifiable with a quick search.
It is ultimately up to parents to decide where their children should go to school. If they are living and working in Western countries like those in Europe, there is little reason to send their children to Indonesia to study in a different language in a foreign country, especially when tuition in their home country is free. However, if they have immigrated to Indonesia and don’t receive any educational support from their employer, enrolling their children in a local school becomes a viable option. That is just my perspective other people might have different opinion. Isn’t this what many foreigners married to Indonesian citizens have been doing anyway?
Higher education is different, as no Indonesian universities are ranked among the top 100 globally. Thus, it makes sense if the Indonesian government has actively supported talented students by offering funding for them to study at prestigious universities abroad. Meanwhile, in many Western countries, home students have the option of attending university with either free tuition fee or access to student loans with favourable repayment conditions.
