Early Education

Pre-School education in Indonesia is covered under PAUD (Pendidikan Anak Usia Dini, lit. Early Age Education) that covers Taman Bermain (playgroup) and Taman Kanak-Kanak (kindergarten, abbreviated as TK). PAUD is under direct supervision and coverage of Directorate of Early Age Education Development (Direktorat Pengembangan Pendidikan Anak Usia Dini). From the age of 2, parents send their children to attend Taman Bermain. From the age of 4, they attend Taman Kanak-Kanak. Most TK arrange the classes into two grades, grade A and grade B, which are informally called kelas nol kecil (little zero grade) and kelas nol besar (big zero grade) respectively. While this level of education is not compulsory for Indonesian citizens, it is aimed to prepare them for primary schooling. Of the 49,000 kindergartens in Indonesia, 99.35% are privately operated schools. The kindergarten years are usually divided into "Class A" and "Class B" students spending a year in each class.