Surabaya, 4 December 2019 – today’s Steering Committee meeting for the Innovation for Indonesia’s School Children (INOVASI) program in East Java was held at the Bina Loka Building, East Java Provincial Government Office. Meeting discussions focused on INOVASI’s program implementation, results and impact in 2019. Since 2018, INOVASI has implemented a range of pilot programs across five partner districts in East Java, as part of efforts to strengthen the quality of learning for early grade students. Pilot themes have focused on literacy, numeracy, multi-grade teaching and learning, school leadership and inclusive education.
To improve the quality of student learning in basic education in East Java, it is important to innovate teaching and learning. With teaching innovation, learning outcomes in basic literacy and numeracy can be strengthened – particularly for those students below the national average. The East Java Provincial Government, working with the Ministry of Education and Culture, continues to support the INOVASI program in five partner districts in East Java, including Sumenep, Sidoarjo, Pasuruan, Probolinggo and Batu City. INOVASI is a partnership program between the governments of Australia and Indonesia and works to find what does and does not work to improve teaching and learning quality. To date in East Java, the INOVASI program has produced a number of promising changes and practices, at the school and district level.
At today’s Steering Committee meeting, discussions were opened and led by the East Java Governor. The meeting was attended by a range of education stakeholders, including the Head of the East Java Provincial Education Office, the Head of the East Java Provincial Bappeda, the Head of the Provincial Ministry of Religious Affairs, and representatives from the Australian Embassy in Jakarta and the INOVASI program. District leaders were also present from 10 East Java districts, including INOVASI’s five partner districts. National government attendees included Moch. Abduh, Head of the Center for Educational Assessment, Balitbang, Ministry of Education and Culture; and Prof. Dr. Suyitno, Director of Teachers and Education Personnel for Madrasah, Directorate General of Islamic Education, Ministry of Religious Affairs.
INOVASI’s grant partners in East Java were also invited to attend the meeting, including: Surabaya State University (UNESA), Sunan Ampel State Islamic University Surabaya (UINSA), Nahdatul Ulama University Surabaya (UNUSA), Bina Nusantara University Jakarta (BINUS), the Literacy Collaboration (Kolaborasi Literasi Bermakna), Ma’arif NU and Muhammadiyah.
Said INOVASI’s Program Director Mark Heyward, “in 2019, various INOVASI pilot programs have been (and still are being) implemented in East Java, including those implemented by various NGOs, Islamic organizations, and partner LPTKs. These programs focus on key education issues, including early grade literacy, numeracy, leadership, multi-grade learning, and inclusive education. These are all priorities that our partner districts wish to address. It is important for us to collaborate to achieve common goals. We have also seen positive changes as a result of the pilots, including improvements in the knowledge and teaching skills of teachers in INOVASI partner schools.”
INOVASI continues to strengthen and accelerate education quality and learning outcomes in East Java, with support from national, provincial and district level stakeholders. Government support continues to be crucial, as INOVASI activities are supported by local district government budgets and replicated in new areas. Program sustainability was a key theme at today’s Steering Committee meeting, including the dissemination of promising education practices from the INOVASI program to other schools, districts and local teacher working groups (KKG).
“The first phase of the INOVASI program in East Java has been ongoing since 2018. There have been many achievements in the fields of literacy, numeracy, leadership, multi-grade learning, and inclusive education. Some of these activities and achievements have been followed up independently by the district and provincial governments. Through today’s meeting, the strategic meaning to be achieved is the importance of efforts to improve coordination and synchronization between districts and provinces in order to realize educational equality for all students in East Java,” said Silvana Erlina, INOVASI’s Provincial Manager in East Java.
About INOVASI
INOVASI (INOVASI for Indonesian School Children) is an Indonesian and Australian Government education partnership program that aims to find and understand ways to improve student learning outcomes – especially those related to literacy and numeracy skills, both in class and at school. Working with the Ministry of Education and Culture, INOVASI has established partnerships with 17 districts spread across four provinces, including West Nusa Tenggara, East Nusa Tenggara, North Kalimantan, and East Java. The program will run from 2016 – 2020 and is managed by Palladium on behalf of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). In East Java, INOVASI partners with five districts/cities, including Batu City, Sumenep, Sidoarjo, Probolinggo and Pasuruan.
For more information, please contact the INOVASI Communications Team, or visit our website, Facebook, and Youtube at the following links: www.inovasi.or.id, Facebook Inovasi untuk Anak Sekolah Indonesia, and YouTube INOVASI Pendidikan.
For more information, please contact:
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Dian Kusuma Dewi
Communication Officer Program INOVASI Jatim
Phone 08111502034, email: dian.dewi@thepalladiumgroup.com
Stephanie Carter
Communications Manager, INOVASI
Phone 0811 870 7970, email: stephanie.carter@thepalladiumgroup.com
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