Education in Indonesia
Education in Indonesia
Meizar Reza Iskandar (14), Class 3D/YPII An-Nisaa Sr. High School
Geographically, Indonesia has a lot of natural resources waiting
to be found and used. Statistically, Indonesia has a lot of human
resources with great potential to develop Indonesia from many
sectors. Universally, Indonesia has very great potential to
recover and become a strong nation.
But all this potential and factors of development need quality
developers: human [beings], the people of Indonesia. The quality
of the people of Indonesia is usually seen in their education,
which is (almost) the most important factor for someone [to make
their mark] in the community.
Indonesia's system of education is becoming weirder and more
complicated as time passes. This is [caused] by the fact that
education is becoming so hard to get that not everyone can get
it, and by how complicated the system is. A clear example is the
new selection system for senior high school students and the
Ujian National [national examination] that has become a new kind
of terror for some students.
Why is education getting harder to get? For some or many
people the answer would be its cost. It is true that education is
becoming more expensive. It would be no problem for those who
have a lot of money, but we and of course the government should
see that not all people of Indonesia are wealthy.
Nowadays, people scream and suffer from the rise in the cost
of fuel. The regime of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono promises that
this rise will be followed by a better quality of sanitation,
economic development in remote areas and the list goes on. But we
shouldn't forget that education is one of those sectors that will
be developed from the budget of Rp 5.6 billion from the fuel
subsidy, as promised by this regime.
These statistics are based on surveys made by the BPS [Central
Statistics Agency] in 2003, but the autonomy of the provinces and
schools causes these [figures] to be [inaccurate] by the fact
that the cost of education rises as time goes by.
Other factors lacking in educational development come from the
government and maybe from the students themselves. The system
applied in the selection of new senior high school students and
the national examination is so complicated. For example, the
examination system is not clear and not efficient, and is always
changing.
This year, the national examination will be held twice. In the
first [phase], the examination is held as usual. But students who
get a bad score and can't go on to senior high school will be
given another chance in the second phase. This second phase is
not only for students with a bad score, but also for those who
cannot participate in the first phase for some reason, which may
include their unreadiness [to take the exam].
Another small example of the inefficient system of the
national examination is the way students work on their [exam]. A
computerized checking system sounds great and handy, but for some
students it is not. Almost half of their time working on an
examination paper will be spent blackening the answer circles. It
is not impossible that some examinations will be left half
[blank] because the student has run out of time. This unfortunate
situation will not fulfill the purpose of the national
examination, which is to select students with quality to continue
their studies to the next level.
Why? Because it is possible that the student knows the answer,
but he/she does not have time to blacken all the circles.
Also in the new senior high school student selection, do not
prioritize students from schools in the same province, but open
the chance for other students from other provinces to receive a
quality education.
It is understandable that these systems were made to make
Indonesia better. But it is useless if it doesn't work
efficiently. So a revision is required.