A Human Rights-Based Approach to Combating Corruption in the Education Sector in Indonesia

Abstract

The education sector is prone to corruption because of the substantial amount of allocated funds and complex administrative layers that govern it. This article discusses the human rights-based approach to analyse corruption in the education sector in Indonesia. The data concerning education sector corruption are based on the judgment collection from the Corruption Eradication Commission Annual Reports from 2004 to 2018. Education sector corruption is classified into three types: grand corruption in procurement projects, obstruction of justice, and corruption related to decentralisation. The analysis showed that Indonesia’s efforts to realise the right to education cannot be achieved effectively and efficiently due to corruption. The human rights approach is used to formulate recommendations to combat education sector corruption to successfully realise the right to education. This article recommends that Indonesia must ensure the implementation of transparency and accountability in law, policy, and governance because corruption thrives where the State’s monopoly of power and discretion exists without accountability and transparency.