Further clarification/confusion about the new Government Regulations – 31/2014

The following is a rough transcript of some meeting notes chaired by the Ditjen PAUDNI, Dr Lydia Freyani Hawadi, on the 22nd of May in Jakarta to socialize the new regulations 31/2014 signed 23rd Apri,l 2014 by the Minister of Education and Culture, Muhammad Nuh. Approx 44 schools that have kindergartens or playgroups were invited and in attendance.

Meeting notes and later additions.

New Regulations for International Schools to apply for a permit
A. General

1. The existing licenses to operate an International School in Indonesia are now cancelled.[L1] All schools, I think? Not just international. Which paragraph and chapter in the regulations say this? Or is it just an interpretation from B.Lydia?

2. Every international[L2] school in Indonesia should apply for a new license for the following school sections:

• a. EC Education (TK)
• b. Elementary (SD) G-1 to G-9
• c. High School G-10 to G-12

3. The process to apply for new licenses [L3]for existing schools is the same as the process to apply for licenses for a new school. We need to query if we already have a license do we need to follow this process, I thought the regulations were not clear about this. But this relates to point #1 above.

4. The application of licenses is to be obtained in stages, starting from the Bandung office, then West Java and finally to Jakarta.

5. The “new schools” are not allowed to use the name “International”.

6. The government has created the following categories for schools
a. Foreign school operating in Indonesia (not allowed to enroll local student)[L4] Can you quote the BAB dan pasal please?
b. Embassy or Joint Embassy school (enrollments are limited to students with the nationality of the embassy)[L5]
c. Joint Cooperation School (established by an accredited foreign school and an accredited local school). In this category there is no limitation of the number of local students to enroll in the school. In fact BAB II Pasal 8 #2 says they are forbidden to refuse local students.

I’m confused. I read the regulations and it looks like to me that we have 3 types of schools, 

1. LPI, (National School)
2. LPA and (Foreign School)
3. SPK (Joint Cooperation School)

7. We and most other schools may fit in the C category ( Joint Cooperation School)

8. A Joint Cooperation School (JCS) is established by a Foreign School and a Local School and called initiator.

Article 1.6 of the regulations state that the foreign partner can be an educational institution. The rest of the document, however, refers to a school. It is important for us to find out whether a joint cooperation with an accrediting agent (e.g. IB, CIS, NEASC) as discussed previously, will be an acceptable option to the Ministry.[D6] This is the question that I gave to Ibu Lidya and her answer was that cooperation can only be done with school.

9. The cooperation can take place between school sections or subjects, at the level of Ownership or at the level of Operation only, at academic or non- academics, or both levels. This statement needs clarification.

B. Process

The process to obtain a license includes two cycles:
1. Obtaining a recommendation to operate a school
2. Obtaining a license to operate a school

C. Obtaining a recommendation to operate a school

10. Obtain accreditation from the National Accreditation Body (BAN) in Jakarta as a local school (LPI – Local Education Body). We should obtain an “A” rating from them.

a. Register with the local Ministry of Education of Kota (local level) and obtain a recommendation to obtain accreditation from BAN.
b. Apply for accreditation with BAN, submitting the recommendation of the Local Ministry. BAN has a form that describes the requirements for accreditation.[D7] The form available on the website now (but it is still on the process of revision).

11. Identify an accredited foreign school (LPA – Foreign Education Body)

12. Apply for a recommendation for to establish a Joint Cooperation School by submitting a Master Plan / Strategic Plan including the following documents:
a. Vision and Mission Statement
b. Curriculum Documentation
c. Requirements for promoting students to the next grade
d. Teaching and Learning Processes (e.g. timetables, school days per year)
e. Description of Students (general statement on admission requirements, nationalities, ages)
f. Description of teachers (general statement on qualifications, experience, age)
g. Description of non-teaching staff (positions, numbers)
h. Description of facilities
i. Assessment policy
j. Points of accreditation (aspects of the school evaluated by accrediting agents)
k. Organisational structure
l. Financial statement

13. Establish an agreement or contract stating the terms and condition of the cooperation.[D8] This is still being discussed by diknas, whether or not the agreement is in the form of MOU only or other format.

14. The program should be approved by the relevant Directorate General i.e: EC, Elementary, and High School have different Directorate General
Additional requirements for obtaining a recommendation as a Joint Cooperation School

15. The requirements to obtain a recommendation for a Joint Cooperation School
a. The percentage of local teachers should be at least 30%.[L9] We need to check if that is for the overall school or 30% at each level of the school. Ie TK, SD, SMP, SMA ?
b. The percentage of local non-academic staff should be at least 80%.
c. Remuneration of teachers should be equitable.[L10] And this could cause problems in the future depending on interpretation. However, it can also be seen as a good thing, except the quota in 15a above makes that a possible problem
d. The school management should include heads for the following units: library, laboratory, resource center, cleaning and security.
e. The curriculum should include religion, civics and Indonesian language for Indonesian students.[L11] The question is, how much, is the curriculum designed by us or someone else and will it be examined?
f. Civics and Indonesian Language should be taught through Bahasa Indonesia. Foreign language can be used for clarification only.
g. Indonesian Grade 6, 9 and 12 students should participate [L12]in a National exam. Does this mean all ? Or just that the school offers it ? Do they have to pass ?
h. The school should apply multicultural and gender equality policies.
i. The school should issue diplomas to evidence completion of the programmes. [L13] At each level ? TK, SD, SMP, SMA ? (and does that mean we issue a Diploma at Year 9 even though MYP goes to Year 10?
j. The cooperation with another school can take many forms, including teacher and student exchange, sharing facilities or resources, collaboration in ECAs, etc.
k. In term of non-academics, cooperation can take place through management, asset utilization, fund raising, internship etc.

16. Any program to teach a religion outside the 5 religions recognised in Indonesia need approval from the Ministry of Religion[L14] Ie World Religions, which we talked about a few years ago…

Teachers of a foreign language should be a Native Speaker [L15]of this language and have teaching certification. Which countries does this include ? (are Irish, New Zealand, and South Africa included or excluded ?)

Timeline

18. The application for the recommendation must be submitted to the Minister no later than 6 months before opening the school (the 6 months seems only relevant for new schools – for existing schools, we assume it is 6 months [L16]after the date of the new regulations). I don’t like to assume anything…

19. The following offices, in the order below, need to recommend the school to be licensed
a. Ministry of Education of Kota (local level)
Directorate General in Jakarta [L17](first initial recommendation, then approval to operate) Which one? Do we follow this process 4 times ?
b.
c. Minister of Education

20. Within 2 years after the initial recommendation of the Directorate General, the school (including the two parties) should apply for a license to operate the JCO through the related directorate general.

21. Within 3 months, the minister will approve or disapprove the application for a license.

D. Obtaining a license to operate a school (after obtaining the recommendation)

22. The application for a license needs to include:
a. Contract / agreement of the cooperation
b. Feasibility study covering: location analysis (environmentally suitable for school), prospect of enrollment, financial capability, social and cultural analysis
c. Capacity analysis
d. Competitor analysis
e. Budget statement at least 1 year projection
f. Policies
g. Bank reference
h. Recommendation from ministry of education from Kota (Bandung) and West Java
i. Master Plan of Development
j. Statement of land ownership
k. Land certificate

23. If the initiators are unable to submit the documents required for the application for a license (e.g. no land or insufficient funds), the recommendation is not anymore valid

Timeline for issuing the final license

24. The license will be granted or disapproved within 4 months.

25. The license will be valid for 6 years and subject to extension for another 6 years and so on

26. The JCS can start operation after the license is obtained

The existing international school shall be obliged to adjust to this regulation by 01 December 2014, or become a local school, or be closed.[L18]

BAB XI – Pasal 39 #2

Additional Comments/Questions

[L1]Which paragraph and chapter in the regulations say this? Or is it just an interpretation from B.Lydia?

[L2]All schools, I think? Not just international.

[L3]We need to query if we already have a license do we need to follow this process, I thought the regulations were not clear about this. But this relates to point #1 above.

[L4]Can you quote the BAB dan pasal please?

[L5]I’m confused. I read the regulations and it looks like to me that we have 3 types of schools,

LPI, (National School)

LPA and (Foreign School)

SPK (Joint Cooperation School)

[D6]This is the question that I gave to Ibu Lidya and her answer was that cooperation can only be done with school.

[D7]The form available on the website now (but it is still on the process of revision).

[D8] This is still being discussed by diknas, whether or not the agreement is in the form of MOU only or other format.

[L9]We need to check if that is for the overall school or 30% at each level of the school. Ie TK, SD, SMP, SMA ?

[L10]And this could cause problems in the future depending on interpretation. However, it can also be seen as a good thing, except the quota in 15a above makes that a possible problem.

[L11]The question is, how much, is the curriculum designed by us or someone else and will it be examined?

[L12]Does this mean all ? Or just that the school offers it ? Do they have to pass ?

[L13]At each level ? TK, SD, SMP, SMA ? (and does that mean we issue a Diploma at Year 9 even though MYP goes to Year 10?

[L14]Ie World Religions, which we talked about a few years ago…

[L15]Which countries does this include ? (are Irish, New Zealand, and South Africa included or excluded ?)

[L16]I don’t like to assume anything…

[L17]Which one? Do we follow this process 4 times ?

[L18]BAB XI – Pasal 39 #2