Recognised but Underfunded: A Systematic Review of Madrasah Policy in Post-Reform Indonesia

Ahmad Fauzi Zakaria, Mochamad Naufal Fauzan, Rudi Sulaeman, Mahmud Mahmud, Mohamad Erihadiana

Abstract


Law No. 20 of 2003 placed madrasah on the same legal footing as general schools, yet the sector's material position has remained uneven. This review asks how post-Reform education policy has shaped madrasah institutional viability in Indonesia. Reporting followed PRISMA 2020. Six search strings were run in OpenAlex on 10 September 2025 and supplemented by handsearching, producing 122 records, of which 32 studies published between 2015 and 2025 met the eligibility criteria. Extracted findings were synthesised thematically and interpreted through Ball's distinction between policy as text and policy as enactment, together with resource dependence theory. Legal recognition is consistently reported as settled. Financing, curriculum standardisation, teacher certification and digital infrastructure emerge as continuing sites of disadvantage, concentrated in privately managed madrasah. The evidence indicates that viability now turns on fiscal arrangements rather than legal status, which points towards differentiated per-student funding rather than further regulatory equalisation.

 

Undang-Undang Nomor 20 Tahun 2003 menempatkan madrasah pada kedudukan hukum yang setara dengan sekolah umum, tetapi posisi materialnya tetap timpang. Tinjauan ini mempertanyakan bagaimana kebijakan pendidikan pasca-reformasi membentuk keberlanjutan kelembagaan madrasah di Indonesia. Pelaporan mengikuti PRISMA 2020. Enam rangkaian kata kunci dijalankan di OpenAlex pada 10 September 2025 dan dilengkapi penelusuran manual, menghasilkan 122 rekaman; 32 studi terbitan 2015 sampai 2025 memenuhi kriteria kelayakan. Temuan yang diekstraksi disintesis secara tematik dan ditafsirkan melalui pembedaan Ball antara kebijakan sebagai teks dan kebijakan sebagai pemberlakuan, bersama teori ketergantungan sumber daya. Pengakuan hukum secara konsisten dilaporkan telah tuntas. Pembiayaan, standardisasi kurikulum, sertifikasi guru, dan infrastruktur digital justru menjadi ranah ketimpangan yang berlanjut dan terpusat pada madrasah swasta. Data temuan menunjukkan bahwa keberlanjutan madrasah kini bertumpu pada penataan fiskal, bukan pada status hukum, sehingga yang dibutuhkan adalah pendanaan per peserta didik yang terdiferensiasi, bukan penyetaraan regulasi lebih lanjut.


Keywords


Keyword: education financing; educational policy; Islamic education; madrasah; systematic review

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References


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DOI: https://doi.org/10.17509/t.v13i1.93996

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