Uneven governance and bureaucratic professionalism: explaining education governance challenges at the peripheral regions in Indonesia
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: This study examines uneven education governance in Indonesia’s peripheral regions, with Puncak Jaya as its focal case. It investigates how geographical remoteness, limited connectivity, and security-related uncertainty shape the practical feasibility of implementing standardized education policies. Drawing on publicly available statistical publications, government documents, and relevant scholarly literature, the study shows that these conditions can constrain personnel mobility, administrative coordination, information flows, teacher deployment, and service continuity. Rather than interpreting uneven outcomes as evidence of individual bureaucratic failure, the analysis argues that bureaucratic professionalism in peripheral and conflict-affected settings must be understood in relation to the institutional and territorial conditions in which public services are delivered. Professionalism therefore includes not only procedural compliance and technical competence, but also transparent judgment, risk awareness, and accountable adaptation. The study contributes to debates on subnational governance by demonstrating the limitations of uniform reform expectations across highly differentiated service environments. It recommends context-responsive institutional support, feasible teacher-deployment arrangements, strengthened connectivity and information systems, and adaptive yet accountable mechanisms to sustain education services in peripheral regions.
DOI: 10.26618/j9e99d88
Institution: Hasanuddin University
Language: English
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7221453404