"Every person is a teacher, every home is a school."
Ki Hajar Dewantara
The Innovation for Indonesia’s School Children (INOVASI) Program is a flagship partnership between the Australian and Indonesian governments that aims to improve education policies and practices. It supports the Indonesian Government in ensuring that all primary-level students in Indonesia, without exception, master foundational skills.
INOVASI works in partnership with the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology (MoECRT), the Ministry of Religious Affairs (MoRA), and the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas). The program also partners with non-governmental organizations, teacher education institutions, the private sector, and other development programs and partners.
The INOVASI Program is managed by Palladium on behalf of the Australian Government through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). INOVASI Phase 1 ran from January 2016 to 2020, followed by Phase 2 from 2020 to 2023. Phase 3 began in January 2024 and will conclude in December 2027.
INOVASI is implemented in several districts and cities across Indonesia, in the provinces of West Nusa Tenggara, East Nusa Tenggara, North Kalimantan, East Java, West Java, and Maluku.
Indonesia is the world’s largest archipelago nation. Comprising over 17,000 islands, the country is home to a diverse array of ethnic groups, cultures, traditions, and regional languages. The country’s vast education system comprises over 50 million students, three million teachers, and 780 local languages.
Despite significant strides in expanding access to education, quality education remains inequitable for many Indonesian children. On average, Indonesian students are lagging behind their global peers in basic literacy and numeracy.
Some students, especially those with disabilities, living in remote or disadvantaged areas, or from economically vulnerable families, face a heightened risk of falling even further behind in acquiring foundational skills. This significantly limits their ability to reach their full potential thus hindering the development of a skilled Indonesian workforce that will drive economic growth and stability.
Creating a high-quality and inclusive education system, and ensuring that all children master essential skills at an early age, will help realise Indonesia Gold 2045.
The program focuses on improving foundational skills in literacy, numeracy, and character education, with a strong emphasis on gender equity, disability, and social inclusion. In Phase 3, the program will help to strengthen district ecosystems for climate action and support the government to achieve the climate mitigation, adaptation, and resilience goals.
INOVASI adopts flexible development approaches to ensure that impactful, context-specific models are implemented:
In Phase 3, INOVASI remains committed to being adaptive and supporting district-level ecosystems to deliver meaningful, equitable, and inclusive education.