We are thrilled to announce that AFIRMASI researcher Yunita Seja has had her paper accepted for an Oral Presentation at The Asian Conference on Education (ACE2026). The conference will take place in Tokyo, Japan, from November 14 to 18, 2026.
Yunita's accepted paper, titled "Teacher Deployment Inequality in Decentralized Systems: Evidence from Indonesia’s Rural Education Context," will be presented under the stream of Educational Policy, Leadership, Management & Administration. The research was co-authored with Muhammad Hilal Sudarbi and Chelsia Shanen Panekenan.
Addressing Rural Education Disparities
The study examines teacher deployment inequality in decentralized education systems, focusing on Indonesia’s post-2001 governance reform across 514 districts. While decentralization was intended to improve efficiency and responsiveness, Yunita's research reveals that it has produced uneven teacher distribution, particularly disadvantaging rural and remote regions.
Using a mixed-methods approach, the research combines quantitative analysis of teacher allocation patterns with field-based observations from East Nusa Tenggara. It identifies structural factors influencing deployment outcomes, including certification incentives and local governance capacity.
Impact and Policy Recommendations
The findings point out persistent disparities driven by policy design misalignment and weak coordination between central and district authorities. Field evidence also emphasizes the practical consequences of these disparities, such as multi-subject teaching loads and limited instructional capacity in underserved schools.
Reviewers commended the abstract for presenting a "clear and well-structured study" and noted that the "combination of large-scale data with field insights offer a strong and relevant contribution to education policy research."
By positioning Indonesia as a large-scale natural experiment in decentralization, Yunita's study contributes significantly to comparative education policy. It provides data-informed strategies to improve teacher distribution and highlights how institutional design heavily shapes equity outcomes.
We extend our warmest congratulations to Yunita Seja and her co-authors on this remarkable achievement. AFIRMASI looks forward to their presentation in Tokyo, which aligns perfectly with our mission to advocate for equitable, evidence-based education policy for frontier and rural regions.