Education in distress<\/p>\n
It would be rather odd to remark that on Thursday, May 2,
\nIndonesia marks National Education Day without giving readers at
\nleast a sketchy idea of why that day has been chosen to mark the
\nstate of education in this country. May 2, 1889, in fact, was the
\ndate Suwardi Suryaningrat was born.<\/p>\n
Although later in his life he would be known for his populist
\nand nationalist inclinations, Suwardi was born an aristocrat, as
\nhis last name indicates, in the Paku Alaman principality of
\nYogyakarta.<\/p>\n
Being of aristocratic parentage, the Dutch colonial
\nadministration granted him the opportunity to receive his primary
\neducation at an elite Dutch elementary school, and after
\ngraduation he attended a school for indigenous doctors. In this
\ncircle of budding intellectuals, young Suwardi got his first
\ncontact with the nationalist ideas that were beginning to emerge
\nin the then Netherlands East Indies.<\/p>\n
Unable to pay the tuition fees, Suwardi left the school and,
\nat the age of 20, started a career working in a number of
\nprofessions, among others, as a journalist for a number of local
\nnewspapers -- a fertile training ground for many youngsters at
\nthat time, who were later to emerge as leading figures in the
\nnationalist movement.<\/p>\n
Thus began his political career, which eventually led him into
\nexile. Given the choice of where he was to be banished to,
\nSuwardi chose the Netherlands, where he enrolled in a school for
\nteachers. On his return to Indonesia, and after a short stint as
\na teacher in a private school run by his brother, he founded the
\nTaman Siswa school system and changed his name to Ki Hajar
\nDewantoro, to cast off both the aristocratic badge he still
\ncarried and to declare his chosen profession as a teacher.<\/p>\n
In these Taman Siswa schools Suwardi introduced the then novel
\nconcept of tut wuri handayani, which is to allow students to
\ndevelop at their own pace and each according to his own nature
\nwith the teacher -- typically called pamong or guide -- watching
\nand leading from behind.<\/p>\n
One leading rationale behind all this was to give native
\nIndonesians access to the same opportunities, professionally and
\nsocially, that Dutch citizens enjoyed at that time. This was done
\nby carefully watching the quality of the education provided to
\nstudents at the Taman Siswa schools, which had to be at least
\nequal to that provided at government schools, while at the same
\ntime imbuing in the students a sense of values and dignity as
\nIndonesians.<\/p>\n
These were all lofty ideas that Indonesia's \"father of
\neducation\" sought to promote. It is certainly sad to say that few
\nof these values are being achieved under our present education
\nsystem. On the intellectual plane at international contests,
\nIndonesians consistently end on the bottom ranks of the ladder.
\nWith regard to creativity, the situation is not much better.
\nMorally and ethically, a serious degree of deterioration exists,
\nas attested by the widespread prevalence of corruption, collusion
\nand nepotism and the ease with which people take other people's
\nlives.<\/p>\n
Clearly, something must be done without losing too much time.
\nIn the present global environment of fierce competition,
\nIndonesia simply cannot afford to watch the process of
\ndeterioration continue unchecked. Indonesians can no longer
\nafford to be complacent about the great strides that were
\nsupposedly made during the New Order regime -- an evaluation that
\nwas based solely on statistics, such as the number of schools
\nthat are built within a certain year and the number of students
\nadmitted.<\/p>\n
The authorities in charge of education should listen to
\ncriticism that there is too much educational material being
\nforced on our students. If this country is to progress and be
\nable to compete internationally, school curriculums must be
\ntrimmed down to include only the most essential subjects so that
\nstudents can really master those that are taught. It is also well
\nfor them to ponder the fact that Malaysia, which not so long ago
\nrelied on teachers from Indonesia, has now overtaken this country
\nwith regard to education and manpower development. This is not to
\nmention Singapore and other neighbors of Indonesia.<\/p>\n
If overpopulation is seen as a hurdle to educational
\nimprovement, one might ponder this parallel to President
\nMegawati's recent complaint about food. If China, with more than
\na billion people, can be self-sufficient in food, why can't
\nIndonesia with a mere 210 million? Similarly, if China can
\nachieve such phenomenal results in terms of education and
\nmanpower development, why can't Indonesia?<\/p>\n
In short, Indonesia's educational system is in a mess. It is
\nhigh time for us to stop arguing and start putting it in order.
\nUnless we do this Indonesia might well be pushed further down the
\nranks of developing nations. And we will only have ourselves to
\nblame if others in the not-too-distant future take advantage of
\nus and our resources.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/education-in-distress-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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