Emergency, exclusion, and inequity in education of refugee and asylum seeker children in Indonesia

ABSTRACT

Refugee and asylum seeker children in Indonesia have experienced exclusion and inequitable education. This paper, therefore, examines what are the gaps between International and Indonesian national laws on the right to education and its implementation in order to demonstrate educational exclusion and inequity. Subsequently, it scrutinizes the reasons why the inclusion and equity in the education of refugee and asylum seeker children should have been promoted in Indonesia. This paper examines international and national (Indonesian) documents (namely official law provisions, academic works, and research papers) and interviews with 13 informants in Jakarta and Bogor for data analysis. The findings reveal that the Indonesian national laws related to the right to education and its implementation have not been adequately recognized and exercised in accordance with the international laws. This paper argues that the Indonesian government should take into consideration the inclusive and equitable education for refugee children because these children are subject to an educational emergency. Moreover, the children could play some key roles in social, cultural, political and economic development.

KEYWORDS:

• Emergency
• Exclusion
• Inequity
• Education
• Refugees
• Asylum seekers

Highlights

Refugee and asylum seeker children in Indonesia have experienced exclusion and inequitable education. This paper, therefore, examines what the gaps between International and Indonesian national laws on the right to education and its implementation to demonstrate educational exclusion and inequity are. Subsequently, it scrutinizes the reasons why the inclusion and equity in the education of refugee and asylum seeker children should have been promoted in Indonesia. This paper examines international and national (Indonesian) documents (namely official law provisions, academic works, and research papers) and interviews with 13 informants in Jakarta and Bogor for data analysis. The findings reveal that the Indonesian national laws related to the right to education and its implementation have not been adequately recognized and exercised under international laws. This paper argues that the Indonesian government should take into consideration the inclusive and equitable education for refugee children because these children are subject to an educational emergency. Moreover, the children could play some critical roles in social, cultural, political, and economic development.

Notes

¹ The influx of the arrival of asylum seekers to Australia has caused the restrictive immigration policies (see Kirk, 2017, p. 258).

² “Inclusion” means “A process that helps to overcome barriers limiting the presence, participation, and achievement of learners.”

³ “Equity” defines “Ensuring that there is a concern with fairness, such that the education of all learners is seen as being of equal importance.”

⁴ Dr. Qian Tang, Assistant Director-General for Education, pointed out that “Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) on education also called for inclusive and equitable quality education.”

⁵ “Inclusive education” refers to “Process of strengthening the capacity of the education system to reach out to all learners.”

⁶ “UNHCR will encourage refugees and their local hosts to interact with others in positive manners. To attain this objective, UNHCR will endeavor to combat discrimination and xenophobia and will ensure that the services it provides to urban refugees bring benefits to other city-dwellers, especially the neediest sections of the population and those who live in closest proximity to refugees.”