Expert criticizes 1994 school curriculum<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The current high school curriculum introduced by
\nthe government in 1994 is designed solely for those intending to
\nfurther their education at universities, not for those who plan
\nto work, leading education expert J. Drost said yesterday.<\/p>\n
Effectively, the curriculum caters for the needs of 30 percent
\nof high school students but neglects the interests of the other
\n70 percent, Drost was quoted as saying by Antara.<\/p>\n
On average, only 30 percent of high school graduates have the
\nintellectual capacity to go to university, whether it is in
\nIndonesia or elsewhere in the world, he told a seminar held in
\nconnection with the Popular Science Festival for Senior High
\nSchools organized by the Atma Jaya University.<\/p>\n
\"If 70 percent of our senior high school students have bad
\nscores, that is not because they are lazy, or lacking in
\ndiscipline. That is because the curriculum is not suitable for
\nthem in the first place,\" Drost said.<\/p>\n
Drost, a Catholic priest and former principal of Kanisius and
\nGonzaga College in Jakarta, said the 1994 curriculum represents a
\nstep backward for Indonesian education.<\/p>\n
He recalled that in the 1950s, high schools offered a wide
\nrange of alternatives for students according to their ability and
\nintentions.<\/p>\n
\"The system in the 1950s accepted the reality that there were
\nchildren who were weak, average, intelligent and very
\nintelligent.<\/p>\n
\"Since 1994, that reality has been denied,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The 1994 curriculum offers students no choice, he said.<\/p>\n
The three alternatives offered to third and final grade
\nstudents at senior high schools -- exact and nature sciences, B
\nsocial studies and language -- are specializations to prepare
\nthem for university, he said.<\/p>\n
\"Indonesia is probably the only country in the world where
\nevery child is treated as having the same intellectual capacity,\"
\nDrost said. (emb)<\/p>",
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