Early education still a luxury for most Indonesians<\/p>\n
Santi W.E. Soekanto, Contributor, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Ridha turned five late last year and was bored with
\nkindergarten, so his parents devised ways to enroll him in a
\nneighborhood elementary school in Depok, despite being too young.<\/p>\n
He soon enjoyed the lessons, but could not cope with the
\nbullies. One day, one of the big boys tried to take his lunchbox
\nand money. Ridha fled and refused to return even after much
\ncajoling from his mother and teacher.<\/p>\n
\"He is not ready for elementary school yet. He is not mature
\nenough,\" his exasperated teacher commented. \"It would be better
\nto send him back to kindergarten.\"<\/p>\n
After much consultation, the parents finally returned Ridha to
\nhis preschool class. Ridha, who began reading and counting when
\nhe was four and no longer enjoyed a class in which everyone else
\nwas only beginning to recognize the alphabet, rebelled. He
\nrefused to attend either school and insisted on staying home,
\nreading and watching television.<\/p>\n
Ridha is actually more fortunate than many other children of
\nhis age because of his head start. His father is a writer and his
\nmother is a highly educated homemaker, so both understand the
\nimportance of giving children an early start in education.<\/p>\n
\"I didn't teach Ridha to read. I encouraged him to scribble
\nand learn the alphabet on my bedroom wall,\" his mother said.
\n\"Naturally, he soon got bored with preschool, where everyone was
\nonly expected to learn to share their lunch and play.\"<\/p>\n
Ridha is also more fortunate than some 10.1 million children,
\nor 83 percent of Indonesia's 12.2 million children between the
\nages of four and six, who do not have access to preschool
\neducation.<\/p>\n
That means, only a measly 17 percent of children of preschool
\nage are now in preschools, according to Dr Fasli Jalal of the
\nMinistry of National Education.<\/p>\n
Poverty and low availability of educational services are
\nusually blamed for this fact. According to a recent statistic, of
\nthe 42,000 preschools across the country only 112 of them are
\nstate preschools, while the rest are privately run, causing a
\ndiverse range of quality and approach.<\/p>\n
In East Java, for example, some 87 percent of the four million
\nchildren under six years old do not have access to preschool
\nfacilities. \"This is a serious problem, which needs to be tackled
\nbecause it involves the future of our children,\" Fasli said.<\/p>\n
It would take some time for Ridha's parents to convince him to
\nreturn to school, but his case provides an apt illustration of
\nthe problems facing parents of pre-schoolers. The quirky nature
\nof child development means that no matter how much we, as a
\ncommunity, try, there is no blueprint education program that
\ncould meet all the needs of all children. The existing program
\nonly meets some of the needs of some of the children.<\/p>\n
The government has shown a commitment to improve not only
\naccessibility but also the quality of our preschool facilities by
\nestablishing the Directorate of Early Education (known as PADU)
\nin the Ministry of National Education in March 2001 under the
\ncurrent leadership of Dr Hutomo. In a seminar in Surabaya in
\nFebruary, he was quoted by the media as blaming the poor quality
\nof preschool education on the poor welfare of the teachers.<\/p>\n
\"Preschool teachers should make more than university
\nlecturers,\" he said. \"I will fight my best to solve this
\nproblem.\"<\/p>\n
The government defines preschool education as a program to
\nassist physical, mental development and growth outside the
\nfamily, before children enter elementary school. \"It provides a
\ncornerstone for the development of attitudes, knowledge, skills
\nand creativity that a child needs to adjust to their environment,
\nand for their future growth and development.\"<\/p>\n
Preschool education, however, is not a precondition for entry
\nto elementary school. Does anyone know the ministry has decreed
\nthe content of preschool education to be the following: \"The
\ndevelopment of Pancasila morality, religion, discipline, language
\nskills, thinking ability, creativity, emotional skills, social
\nskills and physical education\"?<\/p>\n
The existing forms of preschool are kindergarten for children
\nbetween four and six, play group for those at least three years
\nold, day care for the under three, and other facilities that are
\napproved by the Ministry of Education, which is also in charge of
\nthe supervision of the learning process.<\/p>\n
No parent or expert is in any disagreement about the
\nimportance of preschool education and the role of its teachers
\nfor a child's later development. Preschool teachers are \"parent-
\nsurrogate, servant and playmate\" all rolled into one, says Edi
\nWarsidi, a preschool teacher in Bandung in an article at Pikiran
\nRakyat.<\/p>\n
The sad thing is that not many parents and experts agree with
\nthe statement that the quality of our preschool education is
\nhigh. Members of the Organization of Pre-school Education
\nFacilities (GOPTKI) agreed in March that providing good preschool
\neducation is a tall order when facilities often just consist of a
\nmakeshift classroom.<\/p>\n
Suhartini Hartono of GOPTKI claims many preschools do not even
\nhave enough space for a playground. \"It's difficult to meet the
\nrequirements of a good kindergarten, which is that it should be
\nbuilt on a plot of land that should cover at least 3,000 square
\nmeters,\" she said, adding that not many kindergartens have enough
\nsupport material for teaching either.<\/p>\n
There are of course kindergartens that meet all the criteria
\nfor good preschool education. Parents, however, face another long
\nlist of hindrances before their children can enter them. One
\nIslamic kindergarten in the Depok area is famous because parents
\nbelieve it offers a \"quality curriculum with ample playground
\nspace\" but parents have to fork out up to Rp 4 million to enroll
\nand more than Rp 80,000 in monthly tuition fees. In another
\nfamous Islamic kindergarten in South Jakarta, children as young
\nas two years old are placed in long waiting lists for eventual
\nenrollment when they reach the age of four.<\/p>\n
Low availability and accessibility are only two of the
\nproblems facing Indonesia's preschool education. Another problem
\nis the oft-mentioned poor quality, blamed on poor educational
\nfacilities for teachers and poor welfare. In fact, there are
\ntemporary teachers who are paid between Rp 20,000 and Rp 50,000
\nper month, according to Kompas. That's US$2 per month!<\/p>\n
There is also the question of the 1994 curriculum delineated
\nby the government, which decrees that no reading and writing
\nskills are to be taught at preschool facilities. \"Teachers and
\nadministrators find that difficult to comply with,\" according to
\nMegawati Zainuri, the owner and teacher of At-Taqwa Kindergarten
\nin Cimanggis, Depok, \"because most elementary schools now demand
\nnew students be able to read and write.\"<\/p>\n
Megawati, who asks parents to pay only Rp 250,000 to enroll
\ntheir child and Rp 10,000 per month for tuition, teaches her
\nstudents reading and writing. She admitted that once a Ministry
\nof Education supervisor scolded her for doing that, but pointed
\nout that now most kindergartens teach reading and writing. \"A lot
\ndepends on the approach. If you force a preschool child to sit
\nquietly in the classroom and read, you're in for a difficult
\ntime,\" she said.<\/p>\n
\"I support early learning of the alphabet and Arabic
\ncharacters,\" Megawati said. \"But only as long you allow children
\nto do it in a fun way, which allows them to continue playing as
\nwell. Only then will learning not become a routine chore for the
\nchild.\"<\/p>\n
One parent once wrote to the teachers of a private school in
\nBali, praising them for doing \"more than strive for academic
\nachievement, a school that encourages and nurtures personal
\ngrowth, a school that helps to create happy, confident, well-
\nbalanced children.<\/p>\n
\"People are different and a school should embrace this truth,
\nit should encourage diversity and nurture the individual. It is
\nno better to be a great artist than it is to be a great
\nscientist, builder, dressmaker or farmer. What is important is
\nthat we help kids to know what they want to do, what makes them
\npassionate, what has meaning for them.<\/p>\n
\"Most importantly, school should equip kids with tools to
\nunderstand themselves and those around them. By learning to
\nunderstand themselves, they will learn compassion for others,
\nthey will be kinder to themselves and others.\"<\/p>",
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