Better teaching to improve education

Paul Suparno, Yogyakarta

The national examinations (UN, or Ujian Nasional) are over, and this year more students failed as compared to last year. One of the reasons for this failure rate was the raising of the passing score from 3.0 to 4.26. Even though the UN is not the only determining measurement of quality of education, from the UN result it is possible to identify good quality schools. The question is, what should be done next?

The government has to do something to improve the quality of poor schools. The most important step that could be taken would be to improve the teaching-learning process. If teaching-learning processes are better, then the quality of the schools will increase and consequently in future examinations students will do better.

The quality of teaching and learning in schools is influenced by several aspects such as the students, the teachers, and the equipment, instruments, and infrastructure for the teaching and learning process. Other factors are the curriculum, the school management, parents, government, and the influence of the environment and communities.

Studies need to be carried out in order to find out which aspects are dominant in each school. We should know the actual factors that contribute to the poor quality of a particular school. Otherwise, we would not be able to take appropriate steps to improve the quality of schools efficiently.

From several observations of certain schools around the country, especially in remote areas, there are four aspects that are dominant in influencing education quality, namely the students, the teachers, the physical infrastructure, and the role of the government either at local or central level.

In many schools, students can be one of the reasons contributing to the low quality of the schools. Students in these schools may not study well, use wrong and/or inappropriate methods in studying, have low motivation and low intelligence. If their problems are inappropriate methods of study or low motivation, then teachers and parents can help them. But if the problem is low intelligence, then the problem becomes more serious and difficult.

SMP (junior high school) and SMA (senior high school) are general high schools where students should study all the subjects/lessons offered on the curriculum. Students are considered to have failed if they cannot reach a passing score in these subjects/lessons. Failed students are then advised to enroll in vocational schools (SMK).

Teachers can also be another reason for the low quality of schools. Not all teachers are qualified to teach the subjects they are teaching and do not have a good knowledge of teaching methodology. Many are unmotivated, lack required enthusiasm, and the numbers of teachers are insufficient in many areas.

If the problem is related to the academic material being taught, then the quality of teachers could be improved by sending them for further study. If the problem lies in the methods of teaching, then teachers should practice a lot more and get tutored by more experienced teachers.

If the teacher's problem is with low motivation and enthusiasm, then they must ask themselves to reflect on whether they are suited to the profession.

Many teachers are not happy to join training and skill upgrading programs as their salary remains the same after they have completed the programs. In this case, it is up to the government to increase the salaries of teachers. Teacher's salaries are quite insufficient to sustain a decent standard of living, forcing many into side jobs in order to support themselves and their families.

The lack of physical infrastructure in schools is another reason that contributes to the low quality of schools. Many schools do not have enough classrooms, books, tables and chairs, and other supporting facilities. In this case, the government simply has to provide funds to provide such basic infrastructure.

The government should carefully inspect every school in Indonesia, especially in remote areas. The government, either local or central, has to take responsibility in this matter. The government has the responsibility to educate the young generation, especially poor people. Without the government's help, the poor will never improve their lives and will remain poor forever.

The quality of schools cannot be determined solely on the results of the UN. If the teaching and learning processes are not good, regardless of what is tested in the UN, the students will fail. So, what is important is to improve teaching-learning processes in schools. The quality of schools in Indonesia will be better if the government puts a high priority on it.

The reality is that the government has not increased the salaries of teachers, has not provided sufficient physical infrastructure, especially for many poor schools, and has not distributed teachers evenly among schools especially in remote areas. Even though the Constitution requires that education be allocated 20 percent of budgetary funds, in reality allocations are still very low and not nearly sufficient. If the government is only interested in the external aspects of education such as the UN or reports on what has been accomplished by teachers, the quality of education in this country will never improve.

The writer is the rector of Sanata Dharma University, Yogyakarta.