Head of the Regional Development Planning Agency (Bappeda) of Ketapang District, Harto, and Head of Bappeda of Halmahera Utara District, Hernefer F. Tjandua, shared best practices in education policy during the Regional Education Forum session at the 2026 Indonesian Education Conference (KPI), held at Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta (UNY), Sleman, on 1–2 July 2026.
Ketapang and Halmahera Utara are two of the eight districts supported by the KREASI Program. The strategic partnership between KREASI and the two district governments has been built since early 2025.
Carrying the theme “Building an Education Ecosystem for a Sembada Society,” the Regional Education Forum provided a space for local governments to learn from one another, exchange experiences, and discuss various challenges in education development. On this occasion, Ketapang and Halmahera Utara Districts shared their experiences in building an education ecosystem through cross-sector collaboration with the KREASI Program.
In Ketapang District, change began by inviting many stakeholders to move forward together. Strengthening teacher capacity, the innovation of the Gerakan Rangkul dan Didik Anak Tidak Sekolah (Garda ATS), collaboration with the private sector, and support from the KREASI Program have complemented one another in addressing various education challenges in the district.
These efforts have begun to show positive results. A total of 66.7% of schools, or 20 schools, showed improvements in their education report cards, accompanied by increased achievements in literacy, numeracy, and the quality of education services.
“Alhamdulillah, with the KREASI Program, our literacy has improved, as has numeracy. Recently, our Minimum Service Standards achievement has also increased. However, our challenge remains how to ensure that the number of out-of-school children continues to decrease every year,” said Harto.
Meanwhile, Hernefer shared Halmahera Utara District’s experience in developing the 2025–2030 Roadmap for Accelerating Literacy and Numeracy with the KREASI Program and its implementing partner, Wahana Visi Indonesia. The roadmap serves as a guide for the local government in strengthening teacher capacity, improving the quality of learning, and aligning the direction of education development in a sustainable manner.
According to Hernefer, collaboration with KREASI has helped the local government gain a clearer direction in strengthening education development.
“Collaboration with KREASI has given us a clearer picture of what the local government needs to do and what the KREASI team’s role is. The two are then brought together through collaboration. The local government prepares regulations to support the KREASI Program that has been initiated. With the existing roadmap, we no longer have to work by trial and error, but can focus more on addressing the challenges we face,” said Hernefer.
The best practices emerging in Ketapang and Halmahera Utara do not stop as achievements in one district alone. Lessons from both districts serve as inspiration to be developed and replicated in other areas, helping to create education policies and services that are higher quality, more inclusive, and more responsive to children’s needs.
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KREASI (Collaboration for the Education of Indonesian Children) is a program aimed to improving education quality by strengthening literacy, numeracy, and character building across eight districts in four provinces of Indonesia. KREASI is managed by Save the Children, implemented by local partners, and funded by Global Partnership for Education (GPE), with supported by Indonesia Local Education Group, led by the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education (Kemendikdasmen) and the Ministry of Religious Affairs (Kemenag).
Writer: Nabila Aulia | Photo: KREASI/Save the Children