In the past two decades Indonesia has made great strides in improving access to education, as children begin school earlier and remain there longer than ever before. At the same time, however, quality and learning outcomes have been largely unchanged. A new Lowy Institute Analysis by the University of Melbourne’s Andrew Rosser explores how Indonesia’s underlying political and social relationships have contributed to this conundrum of access over quality.

On 20 November the Lowy Institute hosted a discussion of the paper and its themes with Andrew Rosser, the Asia Institute's Dr Ken Setiawan and the Lowy Institute's Matthew Busch. In light of Australia’s development assistance to, and commercial links with, its near neighbour, the panel discussed how these lessons might shape Australia’s engagement with Indonesia.

The Lowy Institute acknowledges the support of the Victorian Government Department of Premier and Cabinet for this event.