Wed, 20 Apr 1994

Education ministry looking for ways to prevent exam cheating

JAKARTA (JP): The Jakarta Office of the Ministry of Education and Culture is desperately looking for ways to keep national exam questions a secret, which in the past have been leaked prior to the highly competitive tests.

The measures include the creation of substitute questions to immediately replace examination material which is found to have been sold to students.

"We will punish any parties found selling examination materials to students," Tating Karnadinata, the head of the office, said Monday.

According to Tating, examination results will be cross- checked. This means that teachers will not be allowed to grade the examinations of their own students.

Tating said that teachers will also not be allowed to supervise their own students during the tests.

The checking of the exam results of junior high school students will be done by computer, Tating added.

As for examination fees, Tating said he had asked Governor Surjadi Soedirdja to order privately-run schools to put an upper limit of Rp 11,900 (US$5.5) on examination fees per student for elementary schools, Rp 27,000 for junior high schools, Rp 31,000 for vocational junior high schools, Rp 35,000 for senior high schools and Rp 38,000 to Rp 39,000 for vocational senior high schools.

Schedule

Unlike the final examination schedules of previous years, the same schedules will be applied to general education schools and Islamic-based schools under the control of the ministry of religious affairs, Tating said.

Such similar and simultaneous schedules are aimed at enhancing the quality of education in both general schools and religion- based schools, Tating said.

Islamic-based schools are madrasah ibtidaiyah, which are the equivalents of elementary schools, madrasah tsanawiyah, or junior high schools, and madrasah aliyah, or senior high schools.

School-run local exams are scheduled to take place from May 3 to 5 for elementary schools, from May 19 to 20 for junior high schools, from April 25 to May 7 for vocational junior high schools, from April 27 to 29 for senior high schools and from April 20 to 30 for vocational senior high schools.

Students who cannot take part in the above schedule for acceptable reasons will be allowed to sit from May 9 to 11, from May 23 to 24, from May 1 to 20, from May 16 to 18 and from May 5 to 20 for elementary schools, junior high schools, vocational junior high schools, senior high schools and vocational senior high schools respectively.

State-run nationwide exams will be administered from May 16 to 18 for elementary schools, from May 9 to 11 for junior high schools, from May 9 to 10 for vocational junior high schools, from May 3 to 6 for senior high schools and from May 3 to 5 for vocational senior high schools.

For students who cannot attend the above schedule, substitute exams will be arranged from May 23 to 26 for elementary schools, from May 16 to 18 for junior high schools, from May 16 to 17 for vocational junior high schools, from May 9 to 13 for senior high schools and from May 9 to 11 for vocational senior high schools.

Examination results for both school-run and state-run exams will be announced on June 9 for elementary schools, on June 7 for junior high schools and on June 2 for senior high schools.

This year's examinations will introduce so-called top-grade senior high schools, which will only accept junior high school graduates with the highest marks after attending state-run exams, Tating said.

The state-run Senior High School Number Eight (SMA 8) Jakarta has been appointed the top grade senior high school for Jakarta.

Under SMA 8, a top-notched, state-run senior high school has been appointed for each Jakarta district: SMA 68 for Central Jakarta district, SMA 13 for North Jakarta district, SMA 78 for West Jakarta district, SMA 70 for South Jakarta district and SMA 81 for East Jakarta district. (06)