I believe we have some education issues that are perhaps unique to this country, however I believe that most of the issues we need to resolve are probably common to many developing countries. Many of the fundamental issues here in Indonesia are associated with the corruption that exists in all levels of education implementation, and the constant desire to find "shortcuts" to improving education quality, without addressing the issues of education management.

Indonesia is a rich country, in natural and human resources, and I believe that the problems confronting this country, besides the spate of natural disasters we have been experiencing lately, are due to management issues, and because of corruption financial support (donations & loans) to the government are certainly not as affective as they could be.

Sometimes I find myself experiencing considerable personal conflict. For instance, I would like to see all Indonesian students have their own laptop computer and have access to the wealth of information available on the Internet. However, I find myself continually trying to counter attempts to make the Internet a high priority in Indonesian schools because:

1. There are so many other basic issues like collapsing buildings that threaten the safety of our students, some schools don't even have electricity, a curriculum and assessment system that doesn't encourage/value creativity, teaching practices that reflect the curriculum and limit student growth, issues like access to basic education for all students, and of course corruption. These issues are far more important at this stage. There are detailed listings at my main website.

2. The implementation of technology is usually conducted in a limited number schools, which only tends to widen the divide between schools and create inequities (try to imagine the divide for those schools that don't even have electricity).

3. The research, planning, and production of local learning materials in Indonesian necessary to implement any effective learning appears not to have been conducted. Frequently the implementation of technology appears to be based upon an idea that focuses upon the technology itself and ignores the importance of quality content, and does not take into account the reality in our schools.

4. I believe that the Government needs to create a new National Plan for School Education & Technology Development "in conjunction with the major stakeholders", the Principals and Teachers (not a magically developed plan from the MoE). The MoE needs to establish credibility with the education community. All future development should be based upon this plan regardless of loans, donations or other unplanned sources of income. Project-based approaches clearly don't work and are generally not sustainable.

One issue, not just an issue for Indonesia, is the continual push by industry to introduce new technologies into the education arena. If we look at it from the industry's point of view we can't fault them. They are in business, and that's what businesses do to survive and grow. And, the education market is a very big market, and in every country.

However, my concern is with governments and the education community who appear to not conduct sufficient research into the claims of the technology marketers relating to educational benefits from their technology.

For instance, if we place technology in the hands of students, especially computers, is there really much likelihood that the rhetorical responses from the students to questions relating to the technology will be anything but positive?

Frequently student responses like 'it makes it easier' or 'it is quicker' cause me to be concerned that maybe we are 'cutting out' important educational processes that may in fact be de-skilling our students.