Education during the Dutch rule

It goes without saying that social conditions in a colony are far from perfect, but education was of a very high standard when Indonesia was still a Dutch colony.

Before World War II I lived in Madiun, Central Java, the capital of a residentie (regency). At that time the highest available education in the city was the meer uitgebreid lager onderwijs (MULO) or more extensive lower education), i.e. three years after the primary school.

Many Madiun children attended the Dutch middle school, the Hogere Burger School (HBS) or the Higher Citizen School, while the children of government officials went to the Algemene Middelbare School (AMS) or General Middle School.

In the HBS the students had to master four European languages namely Dutch, German, English and French, besides the usual subjects such as algebra, geometry, physics, geography etc. It was not easy to graduate from such a rigorous education, and the curriculum lasted five years.

At present, before entering university, a student has to study for 12 years altogether -- 6 years of elementary school, 3 years of junior high school, and 3 years of senior high school.

In prewar time, a doctor, lawyer or engineer -- who had to finish a secondary education before entering university -- spoke fluently at least four European languages. The level of evaluation in Dutch schools was very strict. At that time universities could only be found in Jakarta (the Batavia) and Bandung, and the HBS schools existed only in the capitals of provinces, such as Semarang, Surabaya, Surakarta, Medan etc.

A relative of mine, who graduated only from a MULO school, has been able to become the founder of one of the prestigious private banks in Jakarta.

A. DJUANA

Jakarta