13-YEAR COMPULSORY EDUCATION AND PROJECTED STRENGTHENING OF DEMOCRACY IN THE REGENCY/CITY OF CIREBON AND INDRAMAYU
By: Adlan Daie
Political and Socio-Religious Analyst
Education is the most “tested” and “praiseworthy” systemic path in the history of civilization, capable of driving vertical mobility in the quality of society in various aspects of life.
Here, the context of the urgency of addressing the number of out-of-school children (ATS) is projected to support the 13-year compulsory education program (average graduation from high school/vocational school/Aliyah – first year of college).
“The higher the average education level of a nation, the more it opens up the possibility of greater prosperity, which will linearly impact the quality of society, including the democratic maturity index.”
This is the statement by Seymon Martin Lept, a sociologist and political scientist, and is also agreed upon by the “jumhur” (Islamic boarding school) or the general consensus of socio-political science experts.
Carefully examine the figures below, based on 2024 data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS).
First, the average length of schooling (RLS) variable: Cirebon Regency has an RLS of 7.6 years—a deficit of 5.4 years; Cirebon City has an RLS of 10.3 years—a deficit of 2.7 years; and Indramayu Regency has an RLS of 6.9 years—a deficit of 6.1 years—against the ideal projection of 13 years of compulsory education above.
Second, poverty, using the BPS standard of 20,000/day/capita, is 11.2% for Cirebon Regency (246,000 out of a total population of 2.3 million), 9.2% for Cirebon City (27.36,000 out of a total population of 345,000), and 11.93% for Indramayu (236,000 out of a total population of 1.9 million).
Third, the GRDP (Gross Regional Domestic Product), or final value of goods and services, averages 28 million per capita per year in Cirebon Regency, 88 million per capita per year in Cirebon City, and 54 million per capita per year in Indramayu.
Indramayu is the largest contributor to GRDP in West Java, surpassing Cirebon Regency by 3.72, while Cirebon Regency by 2.37 and Cirebon City by 1.8. This means that Indramayu is wealthier than Cirebon Regency, but also has a higher Gini ratio—the level of social inequality measured by the poverty rate.
This is the homework for Cirebon Regency and Indramayu Regency (politically referred to as the West Java VIII Electoral District) in their projections to upgrade the quality of their society to a more mature democracy index.
This is crucial as a consequence of supporting the strengthening of social institutions, as seen from Indonesia’s position as an “Upper Middle Income Country,” a country with an “upper middle” income according to the World Bank since 2023.
The demographic figures above illustrate that the communities of Cirebon Regency, Cirebon City, and Indramayu Regency are still far from their ideal position on the democratic maturity index.
Their social structure, both in terms of education level and per capita income, still resembles a social pyramid, with the “haves” and educated groups relatively small compared to the majority “lower-middle-lower” class.
Societies with a demographic majority like the one depicted above are easily swayed by money, in Prof. Burhanudin Muhtadi’s terms, “vote buying,” the power of money, and easily overwhelmed by instant image manipulation in the current social media era.
Political figures with high credibility, proven integrity, and long political track records in the societal model described above will struggle and could sink unless they adapt to tactical political maneuvers, and even inevitably, pragmatic approaches.
Political figures with the above qualifications will be relatively easy to elect if society has reached a high level of democratic maturity, namely a society that is “well informed”—literate in political issues, adequately educated, and critical—often referred to as a “civil society.”
This, once again, is the problem with our social construction. Democratic maturity is not growing. Our society is abundant in information but poor in literacy, easily falling victim to manipulation by “hoaxes,” image-building, and “vote buying.”
As a result, we find it difficult to find leaders with adequate ethical qualifications and competencies. As a result, politics is merely a matter of “vote buying” or the power of money, merely a matter of actors in political soap operas—not about electing leaders.
Democracy is reduced to the technicalities of voting in general elections or regional elections, not seen as a prerequisite for the growth of the educational process within social balance, a process of social transformation that impacts the institutionalization of the foundations of a mature social democracy.
That is why Dr. Sutomo, the “chairman” of the ad hoc committee drafting the original 1945 Constitution, did not include elections among its articles. His reasoning was simple: over 80% of the Indonesian people were illiterate and poor, incompatible with a (Western) democratic system and potentially damaging the nation’s mentality.
Now, to quote the title of Prof. Sutan Takdir Alisyahbana’s novel “Layar Terkembang,” the reform era has taken us far into the future with an “open list” proportional electoral system,the most complicated in the world.
There is no other way to upgrade the quality of our democracy except through a systemic education system, or we will continue to experience the current “stagnation,” risking saturation and creating turbulence and devastating political upheavals like the 1998 movement. **
Indramayu, October 16, 2025
Wassalam
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