Teaching illiterates brings delight<\/p>\n
By Prapti Widinugraheni<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Who says people lacking formal education -- or
\ndrop-outs at least -- are less civilized than their more well-
\nread counterparts? Only tutors, presumably, say it is often more
\npleasurable teaching the above rather than teaching an average
\nschool student.<\/p>\n
Haryadi, a young senior high school teacher and volunteer
\ntutor at the Miftahul Jannah Foundation, says his "students" at
\nthe foundation "are more polite and not as demanding as school
\nstudents."<\/p>\n
The reason for this, he believes, is because the foundation,
\nlocated in a cozy home in the middle of an East Jakarta kampung,
\nnot only teaches the most basic reading and writing skills to the
\nlocal people, but also handicraft skills and religious lessons
\nsuch as Koran reading.<\/p>\n
The Miftahul Jannah Foundation is among the many groups spread
\nacross the country which are helping the government in
\nimplementing its ambitious nine-year compulsory education program
\naimed at reducing the country's illiteracy.<\/p>\n
Under the Kelompok Belajar Paket A, or Kejar Paket A, and
\nKejar Paket B programs, it is the goodwill of foundations like
\nMiftahul Jannah, and tutors like Haryadi, that determines the
\nsuccess of the government's ambitious plans.<\/p>\n
The Kejar Paket A (A-Package Study Group) program was launched
\nin 1984, when the government introduced the six-year compulsory
\neducation program for children between the ages of six and 12
\nyears old.<\/p>\n
The programs, implemented by volunteer tutors, were created to
\nfill in the urgent demand for more elementary schools.<\/p>\n
The completion of several sub-packages of Paket A allows a
\nwarga belajar or "studying citizen," to earn a certificate
\nequivalent to that of an elementary school graduate.<\/p>\n
Nine years<\/p>\n
This year, the government extended the compulsory schooling
\nscheme to nine years, to cover the three years in junior high
\nschool in addition to the six years in primary school. To
\ncomplement the extended compulsory education program, the
\ngovernment introduced, Kejar Paket B.<\/p>\n
Foundations like Miftahul Jannah integrate the compulsory
\neducation program with other social and religious services, thus
\nachieving two goals at the same time.<\/p>\n
This year it won the award for the most successful Kejar Paket
\nA program for the Jakarta provincial level.<\/p>\n
"Each study session is followed by a session of Koran reading,
\nwhich has proven effective in strengthening their faith," Haryadi
\nsaid, acknowledging the good behavior of his teenage students.<\/p>\n
Coming from the lower end of society's economic scale, his
\nstudents are elementary school graduates who had either dropped
\nout of junior high school or did not continue their studies after
\nfinishing elementary school.<\/p>\n
Neli, his co-worker for the Paket A program, pointed out that
\nthe keyword for tutors is patience. This is understandable, given
\nthat most of the Paket A students are women whose ages range from
\n17 to 70 years of age.<\/p>\n
"Teaching them is often a tough job...but I've noticed that
\nthose with a strong will are most likely to progress," said Ana,
\nher colleague.<\/p>\n
Most Paket A students come from the low income bracket. The
\nwomen are wives of daily-paid hard laborers, fruit or vegetable
\nsellers and other such jobs with income barely sufficient to
\ncover the family's basic needs.<\/p>\n
"Our classes are not always full, because our students often
\nhave family matters to attend to," said Ana.<\/p>\n
The tutors acknowledge they know most of their students
\npersonally because they live in and around the neighborhood.<\/p>\n
"It's quite easy to know their situations at home, because in
\nmany cases a mother studies at our Paket A program while the
\nchild is a Paket B student," Haryadi said, explaining his
\nrelationship with his students.<\/p>\n
Illiteracy<\/p>\n
Since the government announced the six-year, and later the
\nnine-year, compulsory education program, Indonesia has succeeded
\nin reducing its illiteracy rate from 31.4 million (39 percent of
\nthe total population) in 1971, to 30 million (29 percent) in 1980
\nand to 21.5 million (16 percent) in 1990, according to the
\nCentral Bureau of Statistics.<\/p>\n
UNESCO's 1993 statistical yearbook ranks Indonesia sixth on
\nthe list of countries with the largest number of illiterate
\npopulation, with 20,899,440 illiterate people aged 15 and above,
\nor 11.6 percent of the population.<\/p>\n
Statistics also provide another startling fact -- that the
\nmajority of the illiterates live in urban areas and not in rural
\nareas.<\/p>\n
According to Abdul Manaf in his article Perkembangan Penduduk
\nButa Huruf di Indonesia (The Development of the Illiterate
\nPopulation in Indonesia), the main reason for this is
\nurbanization, which tends to bring illiterate rural people to the
\ncity, as well as what he considered a "degradation" where those
\nwho became literate experienced a set-back and become illiterate
\nonce more.<\/p>\n
Soedijarto, the Director General for External Education at the
\nMinistry of Education and Culture, said fluctuations in the rate
\nof illiteracy were likely to occur because there is still a high
\nnumber of drop-outs from the first and second grades of
\nelementary schools.<\/p>\n
"Failing to recognize and provide the correct support for
\nthese drop-outs may lead to a another rise in the illiteracy
\nrate, " he said.<\/p>\n
In the 1991\/1992 school year alone, drop-outs from elementary
\nschool first graders reached 114,300 students (two percent) and
\n76,500 students (1.5 percent) of second graders, he said.<\/p>\n
Despite the success of several tutoring groups and
\nfoundations, Soedijarto admitted other obstacles lay ahead,
\nhaunting the success of the compulsory education plan.<\/p>\n
These obstacles include the limited number of volunteers
\nwilling to tutor students, limited facilities, the difficulty to
\nmotivate people into attending classes, geographical difficulties
\nwhich prevent the program from penetrating the country's remote
\nareas and the lack of accurate data on the causes of illiteracy
\nat the village, sub-district and district levels.<\/p>\n
Soedijarto said the government is currently striving to
\nestablish more local libraries at the village level and step up
\ncooperation with other government institutions as well as
\nprominent public and religious figures.<\/p>\n
"Starting this year, we will also provide Rp 15,000 (US$7) per
\nmonth for tutors as an incentive," he said.<\/p>\n
In the past, voluntary tutors were not rewarded. With the new
\nruling, the ministry hopes the Rp 15,000 reward will attract more
\npeople to become tutors.<\/p>",
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