201 Child
developme nt and
school readiness
working parents;
supplement ed with
child developmen
t supplement
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program with
parenting education
child development
activities during meeting
Opening hours
5-6 daysweek
150-180 minuteday
Minimum 2
daysweek 150-180
minuteday 5-6
daysweek 8-10
hoursday Minimum 2
daysweek 2
daysmonth 2 hoursday
2 daysmonth 2 hoursday
Responsib Ministry of Ministry of Ministry of Ministry of
Ministry of Ministry of
le Education
Education Social
Education Health
– Women‗s
governme and
and Welfare
– and Culture
technical Empowerment
nt Culture
– Culture
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and Child agencies
for TK policy and
social and
supervision Protection-
Ministry of guideline service
guideline policy
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component, developmen Ministry of
Affairs –
nt supervision
t Home
National for RA
Ministry of Affairs
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works Family Planning
and Culture together
Board Badan – policy
with Family Kependudukan
and Welfare and
dan Keluarga guideline
Empowerme Berencana developmen
nt NasionalBKKB
t Movement
N
Source: Yulindrasari, 2012 Picture 1. ECE Types and Forms in Indonesia
According to the ECE Grand Design Indonesia targets 86.5 GER by 2025. This means that Indonesia needs an additional of 30,000-42,000 ECE services a year to reach the target. To
achieve the goal the government has relied so much on the non-government providers, both profit oriented private provider and community based provider. According to 20092010
statistic there are only 1.616 state- owned ECE from total 67.550 formal ECE in Indonesia Central Education Statistic, 20092010. Less regulated non-formal ECE has made it the
largest contributor to the increase of GER 36.51 from the total ECE GER 53.70 MoNE, 2011. It also has made a wide gap of quality in the diverse ECE services. Many international
franchise education corporations establish ECEs, especially in big cities, with a very sophisticated set of facilities Newberry, 2012. On the other hand, there are also many ECE
services with very limited facilities Hasan et al., 2013. Parents are treated as neoliberal agents who act as rational and autonomous consumers to choose the service at their own risks.
4. The Impact of the Neoliberal ECE Movement on Women
Neoliberal state deploys its citizens and community to achieve expected governmental result with minimal state intervention Ferguson, 2009. The Indonesian government places
the responsibility of the ECE development on the community. Neoliberal policy that intersects with patriarchal thinking has put women in a disadvantaged position. The dominant
202
gender ideology in Indonesia prescribes child- care and education as women‗s most important
role and responsibility Dewantara, 1961; Kartodirdjo, Poesponegoro Notosusanto, 1977; Yafie, 1999.
Patriarchal thinking regards women‗s work as voluntary and free of charge for the benefit of men‗s reproduction of power Hearn, 1982. This ideology intensely influences
the government strategy concerning ECE especially in the government‗s instrumentalization of grassroots
women‗s organization as the driver of ECE. During the Suharto regime the community and lower class women, through the Family Welfare Movement FWM, were
used as unpaid workers to implement many development programs Newberry, 2012. This practice has persisted in the post Suharto period,ocmmunity
and women‗s organizations have also been encouraged to establish more non-formal ECE. Some of the organizations, in
addition to FWM, are Forum PAUD, KOWANI, Dharma Wanita, Dharma Pertiwi, Muslimat NU, Aisyiyah, Dewan Mesjid Indonesia, Wanita Islam, Wanita Katolik, Persit Kartika
Candrakirana, and Wanita Bhayangkari MoNE, 2011.
A testimony from a FWM member, supports my argument about the government‗s
instrumentalization of women‗s organizations in the ECE field. Involvement of FWM members in the ECE movement is primarily based on top-down instruction and it is voluntary
in a sense that there is no financial benefit from their involvement. Menik Ardi Leksono, a principal of ECE
Permata Bunda
, writes in
edukasi.kompasiana.com
1
about her experience as ECE teacher
.
In her article entitled ―The Dilemma of a Non-formal ECE Educator‖ [translated
by HY] she writes how her involvement in ECE is connected to her role in FWM. The head of FWM in her village suddenly sent her a decree appointing her as the head of FWM working
group II, and this made her a principal of ECE Leksono, 2013.
Furthermore, women as mothers are considered ‗volunteers‗ such that, teaching and
caring young children is their responsibility that should not be commercialized. Material compensation for the time and energy spent by the non-formal ECE workers is extremely
small. Their salary ranges from nothing to three hundred thousand rupiah around AUD30 per month. They are eligible for a monthly incentive from the government as much as one
hundred thousand rupiah AUD10 to three hundred thousand rupiah AUD30 depending on the budget of the local government. The highest salary they get is six hundred thousand rupiah
AUD60 monthly while the
province‗s average minimum wage is more than one million rupiah per month. Not all ECE teachers are lucky enough to get eight hundred rupiah
monthly. Most of them receive less than five hundred thousand rupiah per month. The reason why they accept low pay is their commitment to care for young children. As Menik mentions,
―but I don‗t think about financial benefit. I get a spiritual fulfillment by seeing cute young children. Seeing the progress of the children. From stuttering to becoming more
fluent. Seeing the children know A, I, U, E, O. Seeing the children can write their own
names, and so on and so on‖ Leksono, 2013 [translated by HY] ECE teacher are always reminded by the society how
‗noble‗ they are and how they are considered as a
‗moral role model‗. Measuring their nobility with a financial benefit is considered inappropriate. An article in
perempuan.com,
posted in 22 December 2012, entitled ‗Teaching kindergarten is like being a mother‗ states,
1
Kompasiana is an online media of citizen journalism. Anyone can write their opinion or citizen reportage in it. It is affiliated to Kompas.com, one of most popular online media in Indonesia.
203
―the most important thing about being a kindergarten teacher is sincerity. Do not ever think about salary, it will hinder your work ethic. Think about being a good teacher
who is useful to others. For women, teaching in kindergarten is similar to teaching our
own children.‖ Perempuan.com, 2012 [translated by HY] Moreover, due to the professionalization, teachers in ECE are now required to do the
administrative work. The work includes preparing daily and the monthly lesson plans based on the government prescribed curriculum. Non-formal ECE is also subject to government
accreditation that is why administrative work becomes important. Menik Ardi Leksono writes:
―As a non-formal ECE educator we are demanded to make Daily Work Plan, Monthly Work Plan and use determined curriculum. It costs us energy and thoughts. It is not
equal with the salary which is only fifty thousand rupiah to one hundred rupiah a month. I have a domestic helper at home who come every day from 6.45am to 12noon
and get five hundred thousand rupiah per month. If I use my logic, I will have extra money if I stay at home and do not have helper rather than I work in ECE and only get
one hundred thousand per month.‖ Leksono, 2013 [translated by HY] I agree with Osgood 2006 that professionalization in ECE gives teachers extra
administrative burdens as well as over-stressing technical competence. Therefore, it is not an exaggeration to say that ECE professionalization furthers the exploitation of women.
5. Conclusion
