Better teaching to improve education

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.