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Indonesia's youth education, employment still lags in ASEAN
With a large young population that is significantly less competitive than their counterparts in neighboring countries, experts warn that Indonesia may face great hurdles if it does not remedy these issues.
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Education matters: Students of SDN 42 state elementary school in Banda Aceh, Special Region of Aceh, attend a class on May 2, 2023, after a long Idul Fitri holiday. The first school day coincided with National Education Day. (Antara/Irwansyah Putra)
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ndonesia has seen improvements in education quality and youth employment, yet remains well below the Southeast Asian average, a recent ASEAN survey has found.
With a large young population that is significantly less competitive than their counterparts in neighboring countries, experts warn that Indonesia may face great hurdles if it does not remedy these issues.
The improvement was recorded in the 2022 ASEAN Youth Development Index published in late July. The report, made by the ASEAN Secretariat, compared key data relevant to the region’s youth, aged 15 to 35, sourced from various organizations including the World Bank and the International Labor Organization (ILO).
Indonesia scored 0.544 for its Youth Development Index (YDI) in the education category, higher than Cambodia (0.24) and Laos (0.239) but ranked 7th among the 10 ASEAN member countries and still below the regional average of 0.56.
Meanwhile, in the youth employment category, Indonesia ranked 8th with a YDI of 0.437, above Brunei Darussalam (0.413) and the Philippines (0.341). Yet, Indonesia was still below the regional average (0.54).
Indicators used to measure education quality included youth literacy rate, education attainment rate and digital fluency. Meanwhile, the index for the employment category was measured using the youth unemployment rate, labor force participation and the percentage of youths not in education, employment or training (NEET).
Indonesia also scored below average in several other indicators, including equity and inclusion for basic amenities and youth civic participation.
