Education in Indonesia has not yet reached its golden age. Yes, the quality of education in Indonesia still has many shortcomings. Even based on the Education Index issued by Human Development Reports, in 2017, Indonesia ranked seventh at the ASEAN level with a score of 0.622. While at the world level, Indonesia's education ranks 62th out of 70 countries based on a survey conducted by PISA (Program for International Student Assessment).

Let's move on to education in Sweden. Based on an assessment conducted by the Worldwide Educating for the Future Index (WEFFI) in 2019, Sweden ranks fourth out of the ten best education countries.

So what is the difference between Indonesian and Swedish education so that the resulting rank shows significantly different adrift?

At the PAUD or Kindergarten level in Sweden, students have not been taught to read, write and count, but what is taught is about morals and responsible attitudes and disciplined attitudes while playing and singing. It is different from PAUD or kindergarten in Indonesia, which has been taught to read, write and count early on. So the school feels so formal and rigid.

Another difference is that everyone registered at the civil registry office in Sweden will be free from school fees from the elementary to secondary level, different from Indonesia, which, despite the government promoting free education, students still have to buy uniforms, books that are required to be priced quite expensive with personal costs, so that education in Indonesia is not evenly distributed and cannot be felt by every child, especially those from disadvantaged families. Whereas education is a "right" of every human being, and Indonesia should be able to pay more attention to this because it is one of Indonesia's ideals to educate the nation's life that can be achieved with good quality and equitable education.

The next difference is in the teaching system. In Sweden, the maximum number of students in a class is 20 and is accompanied by two teachers. Whereas in Indonesia, public schools usually have at least 40 students and are accompanied by one teacher. Obviously this is very ineffective in the learning process, because one teacher must assess 40 students at a time. So the teacher cannot pay attention to students in more depth. The role of parents in Sweden is also very significant in the process of teaching children, whereas in Indonesia parents are very rarely involved in the education process.

Educational evaluation systems in Sweden and Indonesia are also very well known for their differences. In Sweden the evaluation system applied is a qualitative evaluation, meaning that the assessment is based on student development in attitude and understanding of the subject matter. The evaluation that took place was also carried out very intensely by involving parents of students discussing about the development of their respective children. In Indonesia, the evaluation carried out is a quantitative evaluation, meaning that the assessment is done by giving a value in the form of numbers to students and not explained qualitatively, even the distribution of learning outcomes rarely involves the role of parents.

From the above, it is very clear why the education levels of Sweden and Indonesia are so different. In this case, #IndonesiaMustChange and correct any deficiencies in the education sector, because education is also one of the factors that can advance the nation towards a better direction. It is not only the government that makes these changes, the people must also be proactive in improving the nation. By doing it together, there will be a bright spot in the future towards smart Indonesia.

That was an explanation of the education system between Indonesia and Sweden, hopefully it is useful and we can all be moved to help play a role in advancing the nation. Thank you.

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