In searching for Indonesia’s educational vision, I stumbled upon the Kementerian Pendidikan Dasar dan Menengah (KEMENDIKDASMEN) website, which informs the public about the concept, “Bersama Indonesia maju menuju Indonesia Emas 2045” (Together, Indonesia moving toward Golden Indonesia 2045) (paudpedia, 2025). Interesting! That was my first thought. Then, out of curiosity, I am searching for more information on where Indonesia stands with its education right now.
According to Leong (2025), Indonesia was ranked 69th out of 81 countries and economies in the 2022 Programme for International Student Assessment, which measures the reading, mathematics, and science skills of 15-year-olds worldwide; in other words, it ranked among the lowest performers. Wow, really? Now, let us take a look at the report data produced by the OECD (Figure 1 below).
Figure 1.
Top performers and low-performing students in mathematics, reading, and science
The assessment, conducted by PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment), evaluates the knowledge and skills of 15-year-old students in mathematics, reading, and science, aiming to assess how well students can solve complex problems, think critically, and communicate effectively. The valuation aims to provide insights into how effective education systems prepare students for real-life challenges and future success (OECD, 2023). So, what does the data tell us? That almost no students in Indonesia were top performers in mathematics, meaning that they attained Level 5 or 6 in the PISA mathematics test (OECD average: 9%). The result has positioned Indonesia far below Singapore, Chinese Taipei, Macao (China), Hong Kong (China), Japan, and Korea. With this result, the assessment reveals that Indonesian students are unable to model complex situations mathematically and can only select, compare, and evaluate appropriate problem-solving strategies for dealing with them. However, the assessment continues, and the result released in June 2024 did not provide a positive signal for Indonesia’s education (Figure 2).
Figure 2.
Top-performing and low-performing students in creative thinking
The graphic indicates that students in Indonesia scored significantly lower than the OECD average in creative thinking, which can be attributed to variations in mathematics and reading performance, both of which are also below the OECD average (OECD, 2024). As educators, librarians, and information professionals, upon reading the above graphics, what is your conclusion? What will you do to improve Indonesian students’ math, reading, and science before 2045?
References
Leong, F. (2025, Feb 10). Low-quality teachers, rural dropouts, learning divides: Can Asia solve this education crisis? CNA Insider. https://www.channelnewsasia.com/cna-insider/can-asia solve-education-crisis-reform-china-india-indonesia-4926661
OECD. (2023, Dec 5). PISA 2022 results (volume I and II) – country notes: Indonesia. https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/pisa-2022-results-volume-i-and-ii-country notes_ed6fbcc5-en/indonesia_c2e1ae0e-en.html
OECD. (2024, Jun 18). PISA results 2022 (volume III) – factsheets: Indonesia. https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/pisa-results-2022-volume-iii-factsheets_041a90f1- en/indonesia_a7090b49-en.html
