Testing the diversity of local education<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): A quality but inexpensive education were among
\nsome of the reasons given by 11 foreign students, tucked away
\namong more than 464,000 local students, taking the two-day state
\nuniversity entrance exams which ended on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The annual two-day nationwide exams are a significant event in
\nthe lives of most Indonesian high school graduates.<\/p>\n
This year it was also a crucial two days for 11 foreign
\nstudents, each vying for one of the 73,540 seats in 45 state
\nuniversities.<\/p>\n
Unknown to many, foreign students are also entitled to enroll
\nat state universities in Indonesia and are given the same
\nopportunities as local students.<\/p>\n
The only additional requirement is that, if accepted, they
\nsubmit an authorization letter from the Director General of
\nHigher Education.<\/p>\n
This year five foreign students come from Iran, five from
\nTurkey, and one from Japan.<\/p>\n
Last year there were three foreign students: two Iranians and
\na Korean.<\/p>\n
Usually, most of the foreign students sitting the entrance
\nexams are family members of the diplomatic corps posted here.
\nThis year, however, was an exception.<\/p>\n
Only the five Iranians are affiliated with the diplomatic
\ncommunity. The Japanese student wanted to study Indonesian
\nliterature, while the Turkish students specifically came here to
\nreceive a good education.<\/p>\n
Turks Serkan Karatas and Ramazan Gin, both 19, said that they
\nwere interested in studying in Indonesia because the tuition is
\ninexpensive while the quality is relatively good.<\/p>\n
The two added that Indonesia having a mainly Muslim population
\nwas also an important factor.<\/p>\n
\"We heard about it from our friends,\" Gin told The Jakarta
\nPost when asked what prompted him to take the test here.<\/p>\n
\"We're not afraid of the social condition here, although it is
\nunpredictable,\" Gin added, referring to the various security
\ndisturbances occurring in the country.<\/p>\n
Both Gin and Karatas took an eight-month Bahasa Indonesia
\ncourse in Yogyakarta.<\/p>\n
During the exams on Tuesday and Wednesday, they received some
\nsupervision from the committee to help them better understand the
\nquestions.<\/p>\n
According to Gin, the exams were relatively difficult,
\nespecially in Biology and Physics. He said the topics were more
\ndifficult compared to those he had studied in Turkey.<\/p>\n
\"Insya Allah (God willing), I will be accepted,\" said Gin, who
\nenrolled for entry to the computer science faculty at the
\nUniversity of Indonesia (UI).<\/p>\n
Karatas registered for industrial engineering and computer
\nscience at Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta.<\/p>\n
They will know by the first week of August, when the exam
\nresults are announced, if their 9,100-kilometer journey from
\nTurkey was worthwhile.<\/p>\n
Besides the foreigners, handicapped and severely ill students
\nwere among the more extraordinary people participating in the
\nnational exams.<\/p>\n
Suhairi, from SMU 40 in North Jakarta, took the exams with a
\ncatheter attached to his body. He had been involved in a
\nmotorcycle accident just weeks earlier.<\/p>\n
Suhairi was left with no other option but to sit the exam, as
\nthere are no supplementary tests.<\/p>\n
\"I'm a bit dizzy, but who knows, I might pass the test,\" he
\nsaid after taking the exam at UI's clinic in Salemba, Central
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
Among handicapped students taking the exams were 16 students
\nin Bandung. Nine of them were blind.<\/p>\n
Despite their physical challenges, it was obvious that nothing
\nwould deter them from their right to compete for a place in a
\nstate-run university.<\/p>\n
There was no special treatment for them, all questions were
\nexactly the same as other students.<\/p>\n
However, some did need additional assistance, particularly the
\nblind, as no test booklets had been prepared in braille.<\/p>\n
The blind students were accompanied by two aides, one to read
\nthe questions and the other to write the student's dictated
\nanswer in the booklet.<\/p>\n
The reader often had to repeat the questions several times due
\nto the complicated nature of many topics.<\/p>\n
One of the blind participants was Hasbullah, 24, who said that
\nobtaining a law degree had been a life-long dream.<\/p>\n
A native of Aceh, Hasbullah moved to Bandung in 1993 to attend
\na special school for the blind. Such a facility was unavailable
\nin his home province at the time.<\/p>\n
He claimed to have practiced listening to questions
\nintensively for the past three months.<\/p>\n
Another blind student, Imas Sukaesih, 21, said she found the
\nquestions particularly difficult to comprehend when they
\nconcerned mathematical diagrams.<\/p>\n
A similar story of perseverance could also be found in
\nSurabaya, where another blind student, Totok Riyanto, 20, also
\nsat the exams.<\/p>\n
\"I've been preparing for this for a year,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Totok said his ambition was to become a teacher for blind
\nstudents.<\/p>\n
\"My father is a farmer and my mother a vegetable seller, so
\nthey have no money for me to continue my education,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Totok secretly worked as a blind masseur until he had
\naccumulated enough money to pay for his future education.<\/p>\n
\"It is my dream to enter a teachers' school for the blind,\"
\nTotok said. (04\/25\/nur\/hdn)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/testing-the-diversity-of-local-education-1447893297",
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