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.