Serious Challenges Persists in Achieving Equitability

KOMPAS/PRIYOMBODO

Job seekers register at a job fair on Wednesday (27/11/2019) at GBK Arena in Senayan, Central Jakarta. Indonesian graduates generally prefer going to job fairs, despite the proliferation of job vacancies posted online.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS – Inequality in the development and provision of basic services has hindered efforts to improve Indonesia’s Human Development Index (HDI) score, which has been rising increasing slowly. Serious challenges persist in ensuring equitable development, a requirement for boosting the HDI score.

Despite new economic hubs being established, Java will remain the backbone of Indonesia’ economic growth until 2045. More than 57 percent of Indonesians live on Java, and basic services are centralized on the island. Regional innovation to improve the quality of basic services and welfare is progressing slowly.

Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (Indef) economist Rusli Abdullah said in Jakarta on Thursday (12/12/2019) that investment in human resources would be necessary to boost Indonesia’s HDI reading. However, returns on investment in health and education will only become evident in the long run.

An increase in per-capita income could boost the HDI quickly. “However, the income improvement rate will slow down if there is inequality in education and health,” Rusli said.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) categorized Indonesia as a high HDI-level country for the first time in 2018. Indonesia, in terms of its HDI score, ranked 111 out of 189 countries, below Malaysia (61) and the Philippines (106). Despite an improvement from last year’s result, inequality in education, health, technology, disaster mitigation and jobs remains an obstacle.

KOMPAS/ISMAIL ZAKARIA

Health Minister Terawan Agus Putranto (left) applauds with staff during an official visit to a posyandu (integrated health service post) on Thursday (5/12/2019) in Kuripan village of Kuripan district in West Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara. Kuripan village is among the villages that receive government assistance for the nursing health campaign program to reduce stunting to below 20 percent by 2024.

Basic services

Indonesian Demographic Experts and Practitioners Association (IPADI) chair Sudibyo Alimoeso said it would not be easy to improve basic services. The nation’s huge population with problematic education and health burdens in the past and diverse geographical conditions make it difficult to improve the provision of basic services.

The situation is worsened by a poor response from regional administrations to calls for improving human resources. The HDI is not a sexy issue in local elections. As a result, problems like maternal mortality, stunting, a high prevalence of infectious diseases and of anemia among women persists without being given serious attention.

“The central government’s plan to improve the quality of human resources will not have optimal results as long as regional administrations do not have the same vision,” Sudibyo said.

Regional Autonomy Watch (KPPOD) executive director Robert Endi Jaweng said the law gave regional administrations the authority to develop systems to improve the lives of their own people without having to wait for orders from the central government. In reality, however, regional initiative remains low.

Regional administrations tend to be reactive, getting busy only once disasters occur.

“Regional administrations’ commitment to equitability is key to improving basic services,” he said.

UNDP country director for Indonesia Christophe Bahuet said regional administrations’ performance in ensuring the comprehensive fulfillment of basic services is wanting. Many regions have yet to allocate 20 percent of their budget to education. The 12-year compulsory education policy is not implemented thoroughly, and many people still have no access to higher education.

Education and Culture Ministry Teachers and Education Professionals Director General Supriano said the uneven distribution and unequal skills of teachers were persistent obstacles in the effort to improve education. Teachers are employees of regional administrations, and their distribution depends on these administrations’ initiative.

The quality of education is also determined by protection from disaster threats. Currently, 37,408 schools are located in disaster-prone areas. The government has yet to make efforts to relocate them. “Regional administrations tend to be reactive, getting busy only once disasters occur,” Jakarta State University social sciences faculty dean Muhammad Zid said.