When Tradition and Economics Determine the Nation's Future

Education is one of the gateways to success. It opens a person’s mind to broader thinking and allows them to view the world from a different perspective. Presidential Regulation Number 12 of 2025, Appendix I, page 138, states that children in Indonesia are required to study for 13 years, from preschool to senior high school. Consequently, some people consider pursuing education to a higher level as unimportant.

I live in a remote and beautiful village in West Sumatra, but most people there do not care much about continuing their education to a higher level. I once asked my peers directly when we were about to graduate from senior high school. I asked, “Will you continue to university after this?” He replied, “No, I will just go straight to work. Besides, no matter how high your degree is, you will end up working anyway, right? It is better to work straight away than to waste time studying.” I then asked his parents, “Ma’am, do you not have any desire to send your child to university?” The answer was, “It is better to just work and earn an income, rather than spending money on tuition fees.”

This seems to be a hereditary tradition that has always existed in my village. However, I do not blame this decision. Everyone has a different perspective on things. But one thing I have observed is that economic factors also play a role.

It turns out this case does not only occur in my village. Several journals also state that the interest among Indonesian students in pursuing higher education is low. Naturally, there are influencing factors, ranging from internal ones such as a lack of self-motivation, to external factors like a lack of support and funding from the family.

From the examples I have presented, we can see that besides tradition, economics is the main factor why someone does not continue to university. Pursuing a degree requires significant costs. If someone is interested in medicine, law, architecture, and so forth, it certainly requires more money, and parents must bear greater expenses. The lack of participation by Indonesians in higher education will undoubtedly raise concerns for the future.

The prosperity and progress of a country depend on the condition of its human resources. Take China, for example; they pour substantial funds into education and knowledge, and children there compete to enter the best higher education institutions. As a result, their country is very advanced, especially in technology. Meanwhile, in Indonesia, based on data from the Central Statistics Agency, the higher education participation rate only reaches 31-36%. If this figure continues to decline, the quality of Indonesia’s human resources will also deteriorate. When will Indonesia become a developed country if this continues?

Indonesia is a beautiful country rich in natural resources. Unfortunately, due to a lack of knowledge for processing them, our people prefer to export raw materials at low prices, which are then processed by foreign countries. The foreign countries acting as processors reap much greater profits. Imagine if our country had highly educated people and good human resources; we would be able to process these abundant natural resources, the economy would improve, and the country would become more advanced.

So, what should be done? The importance of education must be instilled from an early age. Give young people the enthusiasm to learn so that they will continuously thirst for knowledge. The government should pay more attention to properly allocating the 20% of the state budget for education, ensuring it is not used for other purposes. The government should also provide more free university opportunities for the underprivileged. Because, as I said, education is what will bring progress to our country in the future. If education is neglected, our nation will be threatened, both in terms of human resources and the economy.