Celebrating Aceh’s education advances and looking to the future

The Acehnese provincial government and Australia are celebrating the achievements of Aceh’s Provincial Education Strategic Plan today, with a commitment to continue to work together to improve education standards for Aceh’s children.

The A$9 million Support for Education Development Sector in Aceh (SEDIA) ran for four years, and provided technical assistance to Aceh’s education authorities to help provincial and district education officials work more efficiently. Among its achievements is establishment of a cross institutional body, the Coordinating Team for Education Development in Aceh, which is now playing a lead role in guiding education policy.

Annual Aceh Education Progress Reports have been produced through SEDIA’s support, and an equity strategy has been developed to ensure provincial education funds and resources - especially oil and gas revenues - are targeted and used effectively.

SEDIA has also seen development of models for improving teacher distribution across Aceh and establishment of three District Level Coordinating Teams (TKPPKs) to pilot strategies and regulations such as school based management, gender responsive budgeting and inclusive education.

“Australia through AusAID is happy to have been able to contribute to the building of a solid foundation for improved education in Aceh. SEDIA has prepared the way for teachers and education resources to be allocated to where they are most needed, statistics and valid data gathered to improve education decision making, and more disadvantaged children given the opportunity to enter schools,” said AusAID Counsellor Hannah Birdsey.

“The strength of the program was in its close cooperation with the Aceh government. All the innovations put in place under SEDIA are set to continue after today, which is a real testament to the commitment of everybody involved,” said Birdsey.

Australia’s support for education in Aceh continues through the Australia’s Education Partnership with Indonesia. This includes support to strengthen the management and leadership skills of school principals and candidate principals. It is also focused on policy studies to improve the quality of senior secondary vocational education, improving teacher workforce and management, and evaluating the use of special autonomy and oil and gas funding on education.

These studies are supported by the Education Sector Analytical Capacity and Development Partnership (ACDP), which is supported by the Australian Government and the European Union. Australia’s contribution to ACDP is through Australia’s Education Partnership with Indonesia.

Media inquiries:
Rendy Djauhari, Public Affairs, AusAID Indonesia, 08111904823