Education on the Frontlines: Evaluation of the 2018 Frontline Schools and Frontline Teachers Program

The affirmation program in the 3T area is carried out in line with the third nine priorities of the Nawacita Program, namely developing Indonesia from the periphery by strengthening regions and villages within the framework of a unitary state. These priority programs include Frontline Teachers (GGD) which provides additional teachers and Frontline Schools (SGD) which provides new schools and classroom revitalization, which is the theme of this study. This study answers the questions: (1) How to design GGD and SGD policies to achieve the expected goals; (2) How is the GGD and SGD Program implemented in the regions; and (3) What is the initial impact of GGD and SGD on access and learning outcomes. The approach used is Propensity Score Matching (PSM), which is a technique for selecting a subset of the control group that has the most similar characteristics to the treatment unit. This study is also supported by qualitative studies in East Sumba Regency, East Nusa Tenggara. The data used includes Dapodik, UN scores, Susenas, location data and program data.

The results of this study conclude that: (1) Schools that receive GGD are not the schools that most need civil servant teachers even though they are both in 3T areas; (2) Schools that receive GGD significantly increase the adequacy of PNS teachers in the area; (3) GGD has no impact on the average National Examination score, but has an impact on reducing the inequality of National Examination scores between students in one school; and (4) there is no impact of SGD on increasing students' probability of continuing to a higher level.

The results of this study provide input that this or similar programs need to be continued in the future, with various improvements, including regarding recruitment mechanisms, allocation and formulation. Some recommendations that can be made include developing a clearer, more transparent and accountable mechanism for allocating GGD teachers. Apart from that, aspects such as culture, religion and economics need to be taken into consideration when selecting GGD teachers. Educational background which has the potential to become a problem in relation to obtaining certification and professional allowances needs to be considered in the recruitment of GGD teachers.