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Presidential candidates Megawati Sukarnoputri, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Jusuf Kalla squared off in a debate over the country’s education system on Monday evening, but offered few clues on how they would improve the sector if elected.

Yudhoyono and Kalla agreed that it was impossible to differentiate between the quality of education in the western and eastern parts of the country.

“Don’t assume that education in the western part of Indonesia is always better than in the eastern part,” Yudhoyono said. “Schools in my hometown Pacitan [in East Java] are not better off compared to schools in Jusuf Kalla’s hometown [in South Sulawesi].”

The live debate, broadcast by private television station TVOne, was limited to issues related to education. The debate, however, did not bring the candidates face-to-face in the same room, which could have sparked fireworks given the recent barbs traded by the three camps.

Megawati was in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, Yudhoyono was at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport and Kalla was at his Golkar Party’s headquarters in Menteng, Central Jakarta.

Successive administrations have been accused of neglecting education in eastern Indonesia, which is home to few state-owned universities, a gap that has been filled by private universities that charge higher fees.

High school students in eastern Indonesia also find it difficult to be admitted to the top universities in Java because they generally score lower on national final exams than their counterparts in the western part of the country.

Kalla agreed with Yudhoyono on the consistency of education across the country, to a point. “But what eastern part are we talking about? Papua and Maluku are in eastern Indonesia and the infrastructure there is very poor,” he said.

Megawati, who served as president from 2001 to 2004, promised to prioritize education if elected. “Changes in government have influenced the consistency and continuity of education,” she said.

Yudhoyono said he would focus on five goals if re-elected.

“They are increasing education quality, widening education access, improving infrastructure, increasing the capability and welfare of teachers and lecturers, and providing better links between education institutions and the demands of the labor market,” he said.