Next government's task to strengthen education<\/p>\n
Simon Marcus Gower, Jakarta<\/p>\n
In these last few remaining days before the final round of
\nelections for the presidential office, many voices have been
\nheard advising on what the next government of Indonesia should do
\nunder the next presidential term. A veritable cacophony of advice
\nhas rung out as commentators express their hopes and even fears
\nfor what lies ahead.<\/p>\n
The presidential candidates too have added to the discussion
\nand debate with their own proposals and even promises. Amongst
\nthese it has been possible to occasionally hear of thoughts
\nregarding the development of education here. It is understandable
\nthat both candidates have sought to highlight their commitment to
\neducation but politicians will often present ideas ahead of
\nelections. The greater and greatest concerns for the electorate
\nis -- \"are such ideas workable?\"<\/p>\n
Education is obviously a very important area for presidential
\nand governmental planning. All over the world politicians see
\neducation as a key policy concern and even a key vote winner.
\nQuite often candidates around the world have been heard to state
\nthat for them what matters is \"education, education and
\neducation.\"<\/p>\n
But how can planning for education be truly effective in the
\nIndonesian context? The figures alone can be hugely troublesome
\nand even overwhelming. Estimates suggest that there are
\napproaching two million school teachers in Indonesia and
\nregrettably many of these teachers could be described as being
\ndisaffected and dissatisfied with their positions.<\/p>\n
However, Indonesia cannot be considered as isolated and alone
\nin this regard. It is a quite common occurrence for teachers to
\nexperience and express feelings of being undervalued and so in a
\nreal way left in a condition of being under motivated. But in the
\nIndonesian context this condition is perhaps exacerbated by the
\nworking environments that teachers have to work in.<\/p>\n
Consistently school rooms can be seen that are under equipped
\nand are lacking in resources that would embellish the teachers'
\nabilities to be effective and most useful in their guidance of
\nstudents towards an education. Alongside of this is the often
\nquite dilapidated state of many a school room. Even the most
\nrudimentary of classroom provisions such as a table or desk for
\nthe students to work on can be absent because the school simply
\ndoes not have the funds to replace broken items.<\/p>\n
Recent news items concerning the condition of schools also
\nhighlight how greatly in need of investment schools really are.
\nWithin the past month there have been reports -- for example --
\nthat in the West Java regency some twenty-five percent of all
\nschool buildings are in need of urgent repairs either because of
\ntheir age or because of \"natural disasters\" that have caused
\ndamage to them. The extent of the concern here is so great that
\nfears are expressed for the safety of attending children.<\/p>\n
Likewise in Yogyakarta it has been reported that upwards of
\ntwo-hundred schools are in need of repairs; again either due to
\ntheir old age or the weather conditions that they have been
\nexposed to. Many schools in Jakarta too have fallen victim to
\nflooding that has caused extensive damage.<\/p>\n
This litany of damage and woe for school buildings and their
\nfacilities amounts to nothing short of a funding crisis. Any
\nreasonable estimate of what it would take to restore these masses
\nof school buildings to a more respectable, and quite simply safe,
\ncondition would surely amount to billions upon billions of
\nrupiah.<\/p>\n
These, then, are short term and quite immediate needs that the
\nnext government for Indonesia must most surely seek to address
\nthrough the allocation of a greater portion of its budget for
\neducation; but budgeting for education needs also to address more
\nlong term needs and concerns. The aspirations of any organization
\nand likewise any nation are hugely dependent upon its people --
\neffectively its human resources.<\/p>\n
Naturally enough, in the context of Indonesia's schools, this
\nmeans that the human resource, the teachers, for schools needs to
\nbe carefully considered and, so it would seem, be better
\nsupported. Recent developments in education have shown signs that
\ngovernment is trying to redress some of the inadequacies of the
\neducation system here but for these to be effective it becomes
\nessential that teachers are better prepared and supported.<\/p>\n
The most significant and immediate example of this would be
\nthe relatively recent development of a new curriculum for schools
\nhere. Known as the competency-based curriculum, the goals of this
\napproach are commendable and appropriate for the modernization of
\nIndonesian schooling. The competency-based curriculum, with its
\ndirection towards more inclusive models of teaching rather than a
\nvery one-way, directive approach and the aim of knowledge and
\nskills development and use rather than simple rote-type knowledge
\nretention, is a more relevant and useful model for education now.<\/p>\n
But the major concern has to be how well prepared and ready to
\nimplement such a new model and curriculum are teachers? Teachers
\nwould clearly need to receive assistance and training in
\nachieving an appreciation and ability to deliver a quite
\ndifferent format of education and learning.<\/p>\n
A number of commentators have highlighted that in many
\nrespects, and areas of Indonesia, the competency-based curriculum
\nis going to be difficult to achieve on the basis of culture
\nalone. Many teachers would not be ready to accept a more student-
\ncentered and controlled model of education. For them the role of
\nthe teacher is one of a high degree of respect and even distance
\nfrom students; coercion and compulsion are rather more the order
\nof the school day for them than cooperation and collaboration.<\/p>\n
Creating such a culture change would be, and effectively for
\nmany is, to create a near total sea-change. It constitutes a
\nchange in the tide and change of direction that is inevitably
\ngoing to be difficult for many teachers to achieve for a long,
\nlong time, if at all. So, it is in this context that the
\ncompetency-based curriculum, whilst commendable, is very
\ndifficult to apply and truly implement.<\/p>\n
Clearly a large effort would have to be made to assist
\nteachers in their ability to truly include competency-based
\nlearning and stimulate greater autonomy of thought from teachers.
\nAnother recent feature is the aim to have teachers become more
\nresponsible for and active in lesson planning rather than just
\n\"following the book\".<\/p>\n
Education is, then, a vitally important policy area for the
\nnext presidential administration and government and it will have
\nto work on two levels; an immediate and short-term level to
\naddress the crisis in built facilities and a more long-term level
\nto address the need to cultivate greater human resources -- i.e.
\nthe teachers to utilize the school buildings and facilities. The
\nnext government will need to have quick responses accompanied by
\nlonger term visions for the future. The journey is long, but each
\nstep is vital.<\/p>\n
The writer is Executive Principal of High\/Scope Indonesia
\nSchool, Jakarta. The views expressed above are personal.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/next-governments-task-to-strengthen-education-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}