Indonesia and Australia have built 2,725 junior high schools in 30 provinces under education partnership programs over the last 10 years, Education and Culture Minister Muhadjir Effendy said.

"The government is under obligation to meet childrens right to have basic education. We have received continuous support from Australia through this partnership," he said at the 10th anniversary of Indonesia-Australia education partnership here on Tuesday.

Muhadjir informed that these schools could accommodate 366,300 students in 10,185 classrooms.

During the decade for which the program has been running, Australia provided a total A$353 million worth of funds, comprising A$197 million in soft loans and A$156 million in grants.

"The partnership between Indonesia and Australia will be continued as it is based on the principle of achieving mutual prosperity," he stated.

Meanwhile, Australias Deputy Ambassador Justin Lee noted that the partnership program has contributed to 12.04 percent increase in gross participation rate (APK) at junior high school level in Indonesia, from 88.68 percent in 2006 to 100.7 percent in 2015.

APK is the ratio for active students in a certain grade compared to population at an age group corresponding to that level.

Lee disclosed that Australias next target is to focus on empowerment of teachers and principals in Indonesia.

The Indonesia-Australia education partnership to build schools was launched in 2006, after the completion of the reconstruction program undertaken in the wake of the deadly tsunami that had hit Aceh and West Sumatra.

The program was started with Australia-Indonesia Basic Education program (AIBEP) in 2006-2009 under which 1,570 junior high schools, comprising 835 new regular school buildings and 735 one-roof schools for elementary and junior high school students, were built. 

The AIBEP was followed by Australias Education Partnership with Indonesia (AEPI) from 2011 to 2015. Under it, 1,155 junior high schools, comprising of 582 new regular schools and 573 one-roof schools, were built. 

The schools construction was undertaken by involving local communities.

Among the schools built under the program are SMPN 9 Ruteng (East Nusa Tenggara), SMPN 50 Batam (Riau Islands), SMPN Satu Atap 14 Lamputan Island, SMPN 4 Sinjai Barat (South Sulawesi), and SMPN 25 Pesawaran (Lampung).
 

Source: ANTARA