Education is one of a nation's reflections and foundations; if education is adequate, the next generation will be qualified. According to the data, education development in Indonesia is still lagging behind that of other developing countries. According to UNESCO's annual Education For All Global Monitoring Report [1], which contains the results of global education monitoring in 127 countries, Indonesia's Education Development Index (EDI) is ranked 69th. Indonesia was defeated by Malaysia (65 points) and Brunei (34). Additionally, education access in Indonesia requires attention; each year, more than 1.5 million children are unable to continue their education. Meanwhile, in terms of teachers and teaching commitments, more than 54% of teachers have deficient qualifications and 13.19% of school buildings require repair.

The government's commitment and seriousness in prioritizing development in the 3T areas (Front, Outermost and Disadvantaged) demonstrates its commitment and seriousness in building the nation and addressing the interests of all people in the 3T area. Numerous obstacles frequently obstruct the improvement of the quality of national education, particularly in disadvantaged or remote areas, which ultimately color the educational journey in Indonesia. One of the education system's problems in Indonesia is the disparity in educational conditions between regions and development priorities.

Nawacita promotes Indonesia's peripheral development by fortifying regions and villages within the framework of a unitary state. According to the National Education System, every citizen has the same right to a high-quality education. Improving the quality of just and qualified human beings through increased access to quality education at all levels of education, with a particular emphasis on the poor and the 3T (Foremost, Outermost, Disadvantaged) areas, as well as increasing the mathematics, science and education competencies of Indonesian students literacy.

Numerous studies have revealed a disparity in the state of education in Papua and other regions [2]. This educational divide exists at the primary, secondary and postsecondary levels of education. According to Venus and Nur [3], low attainment of basic education at the elementary level in Papua is associated with high levels of poverty, insufficient capacity of local governments and long distances to schools. Additionally, this study notes that the population's low motivation for education contributes to Papua's low educational attainment. Numerous discussions and studies have focused specifically on the issue of teachers acting as barriers to education in Papua. According to a UNICEF survey conducted in 2012, 37% of teachers in Papua Province and 26% in West Papua Province were absent from school at the time of the survey. UNICEF also noted that poor living conditions, transportation difficulties, salary delays, a lack of teacher accountability and the inability of local school authorities to monitor teacher performance and behavior all contributed to the decline in teacher motivation. Meanwhile, the Education Sector Analytical and Capacity Development Partnership [2] discovered that the highest absenteeism rate in Papua was among Papuan teachers, both in school locations and in areas of the province with lax discipline enforcement and no sanctions [4]. According to an ACDP [2] study, approximately 30.1 percent of school principals reported having difficulty locating an absent teacher. Along with the previously mentioned issues, the presence of language barriers obstructs efforts to improve the quality of education in Papua. This apparent phenomenon is demonstrated by the fact that students in low grade elementary schools, particularly in remote areas, frequently struggle to obtain learning materials when the language of instruction is Indonesian; thus, it is recommended that lower grade elementary school students receive Multi-Language Education-Based Mother Language (Multi-Language Education. PMB-BBI) [2]. According to the ACDP findings, cultural factors must also be considered when attempting to accelerate Papuan education.

The Gross Enrollment Rate (GER) and Net Enrollment Rate (NER) indicate Papua's low access to elementary school education (NER). Additionally, the BPS reports that 11.89 percent of children aged 7–24 years in Papua Province have dropped out of school, putting them at risk of not continuing their education or obtaining formal services [5]. The various findings, research and studies conducted thus far indicate that the education problems in Papua and West Papua are extremely complex and must be resolved effectively through the involvement of all education stakeholders at the regional and central levels. As such, this paper will make policy recommendations regarding strategies for collaborating with stakeholders in the education sector to advance education in the Papua and West Papua provinces. Thus, the government is not only tasked with developing various infrastructure projects that serve as a unifying belt for the country, enhancing interconnectivity and promoting more effective and efficient economic processes, but also with developing human resources (HR) collaboratively as a form of government commitment.

The authors of this study concentrate on the issue of basic education, particularly at the elementary school level, on the grounds that education at the elementary school level is critical for future education by strengthening character education and preparing a capable and skilled generation for the next level.

This study employed qualitative research with a descriptive research design model, with the goal of describing the observed phenomena. As a result, observations and surveys are frequently used to gather data [6]. The research was conducted by providing an in-depth description and explanation of an object with the goal of describing, summarizing various conditions, various situations and various social reality phenomena that exist in the community in order to determine and quantify both the consequences of a program and its revisions. Must be completed during the program's development, implementation and future continuation. The researcher conducted a survey with the objective of learning about the object and determining its similarity to the standards that have been selected or determined [7]. The researchers were attempting to identify and describe the phenomena underlying the problems posed in order to gain a better understanding of what it means to have access to and a high-quality elementary education in the provinces of Papua and West Papua. The data for this study were gathered in a variety of ways, including literature reviews, interviews and Forum Group Discussions. The literature review was conducted by examining the findings of previous studies, data collection on education, policy products and news in the mass media. The literature review was primarily conducted to gather information about the Papuan people's characteristics, education problems in Papua and West Papua, the steps taken to address educational problems, as well as the shortcomings and weaknesses of these various efforts. Numerous informants were interviewed, including teachers, students, education observers, government officials and representatives from Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs). Interviews were conducted to ascertain each actor's role and the obstacles they encountered while performing their roles. The Forum Group Discussion brought together several groups of government officials, teachers and education observers to discuss education issues in Papua and West Papua, as well as the efforts made to address them.

According to Miles et al. [8], data analysis consists of the following stages: data collection; data condensation/simplification; data presentation; and conclusion drawing/verification. The purpose of the data analysis was to identify barriers to education access and quality in Papua and West Papua, to identify potential solutions to these barriers and to formulate policy recommendations for education acceleration in the Papua and West Papua provinces.

The findings of this study indicate that access to education services remains limited in Papua and West Papua, particularly in remote areas. The existence of policies aimed at improving existing education services necessitates a review of appropriate policy recommendations aimed at increasing educational access and quality in Papua, such as increasing teacher qualifications, implementing the Teacher Equity Program, enhancing education services and involving the community. Numerous indicators indicate that access to and quality of primary school education are relatively low in Papua and West Papua Provinces, with the primary issue being weak education governance, which manifests itself in the following ways: To begin, there is a lack of transparency and accountability in education, as evidenced by stagnant School Operational Assistance funds and non-transparent recruitment of Civil Servant teachers, resulting in the absence of a forum for communication between teachers, school principals and parents. Second, education is not standardized; for instance, there is no national standard for school principal qualifications. Third, education management control is inadequate, as evidenced by the absence of school supervision, monitoring and evaluation. Fourth, ineffective school management information systems, including a lack of school operators, a lack of human resources to enter basic education data and limited internet access. Fifth, resource efficiency is lacking, as evidenced by the inefficient use of School Operational Assistance funds. Weak educational governance is associated with a number of factors. Are the following:

To begin, there is a dearth of human resources for civil servants. Due to inadequate education, the bureaucracy is run by incompetent individuals. This spirals into a vicious circle when education bureaucrats are unable to promote the quality of education in Papua and West Papua.

Second, the Civil Service's lack of commitment. The results of interviews and discussions with a variety of research informants who stated that the primary goal of schoolchildren is to obtain a diploma, which serves as the entry point for becoming a Civil Servant. Regrettably, Civil Servants are viewed by some as a quick way to earn money without having to work optimally.

Thirdly, there is the conflict between the primordial and modern systems. Education in Papua and West Papua should examine the Papuan people's characteristics by recognizing that the Papuan people are characterized by a society that values clan and tribal ties and views that the Papuan people are also characterized by a still-functioning patronage system. With these two characteristics, education governance under a modern system frequently fails to function.

The high rate of teacher absenteeism and the need to revise policies in Papua and West Papua to accelerate education in the provinces of Papua and West Papua. Teacher absenteeism is a problem in almost every district/municipality in the Papua and West Papua provinces. Inadequate teacher ability to master student-acceptable learning methods. With these teachers' limited abilities, it is necessary to develop teacher education programs that provide prospective teachers with applied pedagogy competencies. The high rate of teacher absenteeism is also associated with low-quality human resources for teachers.

To address this issue when developing policies to improve education services, Papua and West Papua governments must establish an appropriate education psystem. The policy in question is a public service policy in the field of education; it outlines a number of policy strategies for improving access to and the quality of education services in Papua and West Papua, making it easier to see the problem map that has been created and the consequences of the policies that have been implemented thus far, allowing for an easier review of the policy recommendations that have been made. Appropriate to improve education access and quality in Papua.

From the research findings, it seems that strategies are needed to improve access and quality of primary school level education in Papua and West Papua Provinces, namely intervention in the learning process. The fulfillment of standardized educational facilities and infrastructure is considered very important by prioritizing educational facilities and infrastructure with the culture of the Papuan and West Papuan people. In addition to interventions in the learning process, teacher strengthening interventions are also very important, the need for local teachers is to strengthen teacher education schools in Papua and West Papua as well as prepare mobilizing teachers to overcome the limited number and quality of teachers in the provinces of Papua and West Papua. In addition, there is also a need for governance interventions, in this case compiling competency standards for officials who regulate education issues in Papua and West Papua.

1. Education for All Global Monitoring Report. UNESCO, 2011. en.unesco.org.

2. Analytical and Capacity Development Partnership (ACDP). Studi Perencanaan Strategis Percepatan Pendidikan Dasar di Pedesaan dan Daerah Terpencil di Tanah Papua. ACDP, 2014.

3. Venus, A. and Nur, B. “Faktor-Faktor yang Terkait dengan Rendahnya Pencapaian Wajib Belajar Pendidikan Dasar 9 Tahun.” Jurnal Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan, vol. 17, no. 1, Jan. 2011.

4. Anderson, B. “The Failure of Education in Papua’s Highlands.” Inside Indonesia, 2013, www.insideindonesia.org/the-failure-of-education-in-papua-s-highlands. Accessed 11 Oct. 2019.

5. BPS. Indikator Pembangunan Provinsi Papua 2016. Mitra Karya Putra, 2015.

6. Gall, M.D. et al. Educational Research: An Introduction. 8th Edn., Pearson, 2007.

7. Sensing, Tim. Qualitative Research: A Multi-Methods Approach to Projects for Doctor of Ministry Theses. Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2011.

8. Miles, M.B. et al. Qualitative Data Analysis: A Methods Sourcebook. 3rd ed., SAGE Publications, 2014.