Education: Learning from a crisis<\/p>\n
By David Harries<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Economic volatility and political uncertainty
\nare fostering fears for the future in Indonesia and its
\nneighbors, with good reason. The economic debacle is a global
\ntrauma. The worst of its effects are yet to come, and their form
\nand force will be unknown until they arrive.<\/p>\n
The hardest hurt from every prosperity and power level in
\nsociety are unlikely to be in a charitable and tolerant mood for
\na long time to come. And, of most immediate concern, the end of
\nthe Idul Fitri holiday signals the end of Ramadhan's calming
\npresence.<\/p>\n
There are, however, two things about which there is no doubt.
\nAnd they deserve more attention than they are getting. One is
\nthat the crisis, and crises it may spawn, will end. The other is
\nthat the world will go on.<\/p>\n
Supercilious waffle? Not if you are serious about both dealing
\nwith the crisis and preparing for its aftermath. These two tasks
\npoint us towards both medicine for the present and insurance for
\nthe future.<\/p>\n
They point at the young; the pre-schoolers, primary schoolers
\nand teenagers, who as adults will manage and lead in the future.
\nWhat they do as leaders and how well they do it depends on their
\npreparation; on their personal and professional development, on
\ntheir education.<\/p>\n
Much is always made about the importance and value of
\neducation as a key to sustaining national development and
\nincreasing prosperity. In recent times, Asians have given
\nthemselves high marks for their words and deeds on education.
\nMany outside the region have joined in the praise.<\/p>\n
But, like so much else connected with the fall from grace of
\nthe Asian \"economic miracle\", education is being exposed as the
\nrecipient of at least as much lip service as system improvement
\nin the recent past. A 1997 article, The Silence of the Lambs, in
\na major news magazine, described the situation in detail, even
\nbefore July's first currency melt down. It noted that education
\nin Asia, Southeast Asia in general, and Malaysia in particular,
\nwas neither providing nor achieving what was claimed or needed.
\nIn brief it failed to encourage critical thinking, analysis and
\ncreativity.<\/p>\n
By education, I do not focus on literacy. Achievement of
\nliteracy is commendable, and countries such as Indonesia which
\nhave greatly increased the size of the literate population have
\nmuch to be proud of. But literacy in the absence of real
\nopportunity to advance intellectually and make real improvements
\nto one's quality of life, is a double edged sword. People know
\nmore because they can read. But, the more they know, the clearer
\ntheir perceptions of factors preventing betterment will become.
\nDissatisfaction and anger are the logical reaction to any
\nperceived injustices.<\/p>\n
By education, I do mean teachers and students in schools and
\nuniversities, working together in mutually responsible and
\naccountable ways. I mean qualified teachers striving to teach
\nstudents how to think critically, question and analyze. I mean a
\npartnership to produce graduates with the knowledge and skills
\nneeded to survive and succeed in an environment of competitive
\nglobalism.<\/p>\n
In a country such as Indonesia, where the great majority of
\nthe population are smallholder or subsistence farmers, further
\neducation is hardly germane to the status quo. But the struggling
\nmiddle class and the newly literate no longer believe in the
\nstatus quo as best for them, or for their country. The structures
\nand processes which the country needs to operate as a full and
\nsuccessful member of the global community can be developed and
\noperated effectively only by people whose education provides them
\nwith the skills and confidence to do so.<\/p>\n
Analogy to sport may be useful. To qualify for the right to
\nparticipate in the Olympic Games, an individual must first
\nachieve a standard. It is clearly posted and open to all who wish
\nto try. If you did not qualify you do not compete.<\/p>\n
Too many schools, universities, students and teachers in Asia
\nare ignoring, or avoiding, the issue of quality and the need for
\nappropriate and credible qualifications. Too many individuals
\nwant to earn their qualification, and expect to prosper from it,
\nwith little or no work. Levels of accountability and
\nresponsibility which would foster the necessary competence and
\ncredibility are too often absent.<\/p>\n
Sadly, there are today many reasons for this condition. Near
\nthe head of the list, certainly in Indonesia, is the pay of the
\nteachers and lecturers, who are civil servants. It is so
\ndesperately, unfairly and disproportionately low, relative to the
\nimportance and value of the profession, that many -- I have been
\ntold most -- teachers simply can not afford to maintain
\nprofessional competence at the necessary level or foster the
\nresponsibility and accountability their profession calls for.<\/p>\n
If the government of Indonesia could grant qualified teachers
\na reasonable financial status, their performance in front of
\nstudents could only rise. The increase in their pride and
\nconfidence would rub off on the students. If more students
\nunderstood the need for, and benefits of, a credible, earned
\nqualification, they would perform better. The result would be
\nfewer unprepared and incompetent graduates dropped into the work-
\nworld to add to the numbers of un-and under-employed, a
\nparticularly intense national issue in these hard economic times.<\/p>\n
There is a role here for the international community as well.
\nFirst, overseas universities currently practicing academic
\nequivalents of affirmative action could de-emphasize the bottom
\nline \"fee for presence\" philosophy in favor of one more
\norientated to \"performance for future considerations\".<\/p>\n
Second, institutions could help soften the effects of the
\ncurrency melt-down. Families of a large number of Asian students
\nat universities overseas have been put in a terrible bind. Fees,
\nliving and home-visit expenses have gone up many-fold. For what
\nis a truly tiny sum compared to the US$100 billion or $200
\nbillion committed to bailing out the richest and most powerful in
\nonly a handful of debt-embedded countries, every Asian student
\nstudying overseas could have the \"meltdown component\" of his or
\nher current school fees covered, on the condition that his or her
\nwork was of sufficient quality. In other words, deserving
\nstudents would deserve an academic equivalent of an IMF bailout.<\/p>\n
Thirdly, the NGO could weigh in anew. Many have just completed
\npost-Cold War restructuring and re-missioning. Each of the major
\norganizations working in the social sector should add another
\nline to their task list: \"Sponsor upgrades at strategic schools
\nin major centers in economically-stressed and academically weak
\ncountries\". The sponsorship would, in keeping with the theme of
\nquality, be subject to regular performance reviews. Failure to
\nperform would result in the activity being moved to another needy
\ninstitution.<\/p>\n
The future will come. The young of today will be the leaders.
\nEducation systems in Asia are mortgaging both, for a variety of
\nreasons. But even in these times of unprecedented financial
\nvolatility and uncertainty, a relatively small and
\nuncontroversial investment from within and without the country
\ncould be made which would pay enormous dividends for a future
\nwhich enjoyed less of both.<\/p>\n
Window A: But, like so much else connected with the fall from
\ngrace of the Asian \"economic miracle\", education is being exposed
\nas the recipient of at least as much lip service as system
\nimprovement in the recent past.<\/p>\n
Window B: Too many schools, universities, students and teachers in
\nAsia are ignoring, or avoiding, the issue of quality and the need
\nfor appropriate and credible qualifications. Too many individuals
\nwant to earn their qualification, and expect to prosper from it,
\nwith little or no work.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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