International Education in Jakarta
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Indonesia is the largest country in South East Asia, and fast becoming one of the continent’s rising economic stars. There is a thriving expat community in the capital Jakarta, which is also home to the country’s best international schools. If you’re considering a move to Jakarta with your family, here is everything you need to know about getting the best international education for your children.
International schools in Jakarta are largely catered to the expat population, but a small proportion of the student body will be native children. This allows your child to mix with children of various cultures and nationalities, as well as engaging with the culture and people of their new home. Learning the Indonesian language and culture is also compulsory in international schools, which will help even more!
Over half of Jakarta’s international schools are British-oriented, and around one fifth are US-oriented. This means they follow either the British, US, or International curriculum with lessons taught through English.
The majority of schools cater for children aged 3 or 4 right up until age 18. There are also a large number of pre-schools attached to international schools in Jakarta. Children who attend these pre-schools are often given priority when applying to the attached international schools.
Jakarta is a huge city with an eye-watering number of international schools to choose from. They are scattered throughout the north, west, south and centre of the city. You don’t need to be too concerned about where to live vs. where to send your child to school - you’ll never be too far away from an international school.
Something which is unique to Indonesia’s international schools is their nomenclature. In 2015 the Indonesian government ruled that international schools not run by embassies (mostly for-profit schools) could no longer have the word ‘international’ in their names.
This can be a little confusing at first, since expats may not consider these to be international schools ‘at a glance’. Don’t worry, they are!
The regulation was introduced to set higher education standards, along with a sweep of other regulations. These include higher qualification requirements for teachers and staff, forbidding foreign stakeholders from owning more than 49% of an international school, and the aforementioned compulsory language and culture lessons.
All international schools in Indonesia must also have a direct link with overseas schools or education authorities. This means that the vast majority of international schools in Jakarta offer the consistent standards of education and are internationally or globally recognised.
So whichever school you choose, you can rest assured that your child’s education will not only be of a high standard, but will also be transferable should you move on to another country in future.
Below, we have compiled the top 10 international schools in Jakarta according to our users. However, there are another 56 schools to choose from in the city. You can find the best international school for your child by personalising your results. Just fill in your search criteria, and we will calculate a personal score for every international school in Jakarta based on your requirements.
