Assessing private schools

Assessing private schools

Muhammad Iqbal, Jakarta

It is now an established and observable fact that in Jakarta,
and one or two other cities around Indonesia, there is a small
but growing sector of private schools that are offering packages
of education that are somewhat different to what is and can be
offered by state-run schools.

In general, we have to recognize that this sector is small; in
comparison to the thousands upon thousands of schools that we
have nationally with millions of schoolchildren, these private
schools are but a tiny minority; but this "tiny minority" can be
significant and we therefore should, even must, consider it.

In this newspaper there has been much consideration and even
consternation about certain aspects of these "minority, privately
run schools". Significant among these concerns have been the
manner in which expatriates are so easily employed in such
schools and how the concept of bilingual education is sometimes
being used for the wrong reasons.

Aspects of private schools such as these are understandably a
concern and it is right that we consider and debate them. Some
will argue that a carte-blanche employment of expatriates to
teach in such schools is wrong and others will highlight that the
aim of bilingual education is wrongly applied for marketing
purposes that does not really reach out to educational
development and growth.

These aspects of private schools are really problematic and
consistently negative and must concern us but it is only fair and
right to balance our considerations of private schools with
awareness and appreciation of what is good, and this can very
directly assist us in the difficult task of developing our
education nationally.

A reality that we may currently encounter, as a benefit of
privately owned and run schools, is that they are bringing to our
nation better practices and new ways for our teachers to learn
and apply. Take, for example, the fact that a number of these
schools consistently run training programs for their teachers.
This very directly creates the opportunity for Indonesian
educators to learn and pass on their learning.

Other private schools set up the possibility for local
teachers to work alongside expatriate teachers. Provided that
these expatriate teachers are experienced and have something to
contribute to their local partners, this too can be a great and
beneficial learning experience.

Other schools offer scholarship programs that allow teachers
to teach and gain qualifications at the same time. Finally, those
schools that aim to offer international qualifications such as
those offered by the International Baccalaureate Organization
create the opportunity for teachers to gain internationally
recognized qualifications and accreditation.

All of this creates very beneficial potential outcomes for
Indonesian educators and for Indonesia itself. These are very
definite plus factors that will positively assist us to develop
education in this country. But perhaps there is an even greater
factor that we should consider that underlies all of this
"development", and this is the philosophy and approach to
education.

Private schools will quite often be found to be applying a
philosophy towards education that is somewhat different to that
which we are perhaps most familiar. Perhaps for us education has
for too long existed as a way of indoctrinating and imposing
conformity on our children. Perhaps for too long we have
literally applied a model of education that forces our children
to conform to what we require and nothing more or less.

The great American thinker and writer Noam Chomsky stated that
"Education must provide the opportunities for self-fulfillment;
it can at best provide a rich and challenging environment for the
individual to explore, in his own way." This needs to be at the
top of our agenda for educational development in our schools.

Nobody doubts that we as a nation desperately need to improve
the "infrastructure" of our schools in terms of simply building
new schools and rebuilding old schools, but we also need massive
building and rebuilding of our thinking on education and
educational outcomes. If this is possible, and spurred on by the
small, minority private sector of schools, then this must be a
good thing.

The negatives that may be associated with private schools are
significant and we must be aware of and respond to them, but
likewise we must be aware of and respond to the positives that
may be derived from such schools. There is a genuine and grave
concern that too many schools are being opened up by private
individuals with little more in mind than starting up a lucrative
business.

Schools should not be allowed to be used for short-term gain
and profit-making by private individuals. There really should be
a requirement, legitimately imposed, that new, privately owned
schools be active in building and rebuilding educational growth
in our nation. This could include requirements that schools show
and deliver programs that both provide education for their
students and training and development for their teaching staff.

The writer is an educational counselor in Jakarta. He can be
reached at muhambal@yahoo.com.