Draft bill promises tailor-made education

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The latest draft bill on education is set to offer the public a customized curriculum system which would give students and parents greater authority in the learning process, but will demand much more from teachers as well as the state budget for it to work.

The proposed bill, initiated by the House of Representatives with the help of a government-appointed team, would minimize the state's role to empower the public and schools, said Ibrahim Musa, a government consultant on drafting the bill.

Its premise, he said on Thursday, was to open up the education system. "Students will have a more individual curriculum... they can pick studies even from different institutions."

Schools would resemble universities where students, instead of teachers, would change classes according to their subjects.

Students may attend different schools or universities and even choose to learn a subject outside the school at an accredited private course.

The open education system enables students to design their own study program much in the same way university students do.

They might attend subjects at higher classes and must only repeat those they fail to pass instead of sitting through the whole year.

"The goal is to enable bright students to graduate at an earlier age," said Ibrahim.

Implementing the policy of an open education system also calls for more involvement from schools and parents.

Ibrahim said the draft bill calls for schools to form committees with parents, local government officials and public figures.

"The committee will have a say in directing the school education policy. We are still considering this, but its authority may go as far as selecting the teachers for a school." he said.

While most had few objections against the draft bill, he conceded that teachers had criticized it as it would increase their responsibility.

Poorly paid and pressured with overcrowded classes, teachers will now be asked to design their own teaching materials, evaluate their students better and still keep up with national standards.

They must also possess at least a bachelor's degree - a policy that may hinder the entrance of new teachers and cause others to drop their positions amid an already scarce supply pool.

Ibrahim said as more was demanded from teachers, the bill allowed them to receive higher salaries than other civil servants.

But this promise needs approval from the Finance Ministry which is scrambling to cut expenses amid massive debt burdens.

The draft bill further wants the central government and local administrations to set aside a 20 percent share of their budget funds on education, not including teachers' wages.

Ibrahim admitted this demand drew critics from many corners inside the government.

"What can we say, education is a long term investment," he said, reasoning that most other countries set aside some 25 percent of their overall budgets for education.

He added that spending on education amounted to less than 10 percent of the Rp 258.84 trillion (about US$27 billion) allotted for development and routine spending in the 2002 state budget.

Education expert Mochtar Buchori said that with the proposed bill, the government had taken the right step in reforming the education sector.

"It (the draft bill) is the right step, as it gives the opportunity for greater participation for the public," he said.

Indonesia uses the 1989 education law that experts said could no longer cope with the vast changes the nation had experienced.

Ibrahim said the draft bill shared similarities with both the Malaysian and the U.S. education systems but by and large was a mix of various opinions locally.

The House expects to submit the bill for deliberation with the government later this month.

The new education law, he said, could come out by next September with government regulations to follow within a year.