• Indonesia is an archipelagic country (~17,000 islands) with more than 1,340 ethnic tribes and diverse cultures and traditions.
• As of 2021, the population of Indonesia is 272,200,000, of which about 3% are males and another 49.7% are females.
• The use of electricity per capita is still quite low compared to the average per capita in other middle-income countries.
• The household’s internet users reached 78.18 percent (2021)
• More than 95% Internet users are connected by mobile broadband while smartphone ownership reaches 98% compared to 74% of laptops/PCs (2021)
• The average fixed broadband speed is 14.9 Mbps and the average mobile broadband speed rate is at 10.4 Mbps (2018).

While internet penetration is relatively high in general, the disparity of internet penetration in schools remains a huge challenge in Indonesia, especially due to its geographical situation. In April 2021, 97% of schools already have electricity, but there are still 3% or more than 6000 schools without electricity. In 2020, 19% or ~42,000 schools still have no internet access. However, out of ~42,000 schools, ~30,000 of schools are located within the range of Base Transceiver Station (BTS), so the internet is accessible by using cellular phones.

In addition to disparity of internet, schools in Indonesia face further challenges on (1) technological disparities between schools in big cities and rural areas, (2) limited teacher competence in the use of learning applications, (3) limited resources for the use of educational technology such as the Internet and quotas, and (4) the relationship between teacher-student-parents in online learning which has not yet integrated (Suharwoto, 2020).

In order to prevent learning loss, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology (MOECRT) has made concerted efforts to answer the challenges, among others through the provision of internet quota for students to access digital learning resources; capacity building for teachers (more than 3 million teachers) to empower teachers to conduct online instruction via a public-private partnership; strengthening the role of educational technologists in designing and developing online learning; establishment of online education ecosystem; and provision of affordable and accessible gadgets for online learning.

The MOECRT has taken various initiatives to facilitate digital transformation in the education sector, especially on preparing the technology to support the new normal, such as implementation of artificial intelligence, 5G connectivity, 3D printing, and technology for wider and equal education distribution; sociocultural change: capacity building for new jobs, new curriculum and learning strategy, entrepreneurship, collaboration with industry, reskilling and upskilling for employment, building the character of Pancasila Students (Pelajar Pancasila); and institutional preparation: collaboration across parties for education, especially for industrial experience, an incentive for education initiatives, public-private partnership, institutional autonomy and accreditation, automation, and international exposure (Naim, 2021). Expectedly, these initiatives will enable Indonesia’s education to transform digitally, and at the final end, improve its quality, to assure the country’s economic development and competitiveness.