Educational expert says 1994 curriculum too tough

Educational expert says 1994 curriculum too tough

JAKARTA (JP): An expert on education warns that the new school curriculum introduced nationwide last year is so tough that only a handful of students are likely to make it through.

The 1994 curriculum should be simplified in order to enable more students to reach and pass through the junior and general senior high school levels, Father J. Drost S.J. said on Thursday.

"The new 1994 curriculum is very thorough. If it is fully implemented maybe only 50 percent to 60 percent of elementary school children will be eligible to enter junior high, and only 30 percent of junior high students will be able to enter general senior high school," Drost said during the dedication of new facilities for St. Laurensia School.

He warned that under the new curriculum, between 40 percent and 50 percent of children finishing elementary school and 70 percent of the students finishing junior high school will be forced to drop out of the general education schools and enter vocational schools where the curriculum is simpler.

The new curriculum was introduced at the start of the 1994- 1995 academic year in July, at the same time as the launching of the nine-year compulsory school program.

It integrates elementary and junior high school educations into a nine-year program, allows schools to pack local subjects into the education package and cuts down the number of compulsory subjects taught at both grade and secondary schools. The curriculum is currently being implemented on a trial basis at junior high and general education high schools.

Drost considers the 1994 curriculum as compelling school principals to impose a tighter selection system when enrolling students.

"This in turn will produce 'favorite schools' consisting of state and private schools which impose a tight selection system and are therefore more difficult to enter," he said.

Knowledge

Suyudanta SJ, principal of Canissius High School, pointed out that schools must not only be capable of providing students with packages of knowledge, but must also be able to stimulate the students' ability to express and analyze the contents of the courses given to them.

"Teachers should not stop at feeling gratified after they have transferred knowledge to their students. If their job is limited to this, students will only be capable of memorizing something, while in fact they should also be able to express and comment on what they have received," Suyudanta said.

He said that school curriculums should only be considered instruments for teachers.

He was concerned at the fact that many teachers think that the more study materials are given to students, the more intelligent they will become. "This is wrong," he said.

"The major shortcomings of schools are that they do not follow an orderly method in the teaching and learning process. Schools only act as communicators of the basic stages of knowledge, when in fact they should develop the analytical and expressive skills of the students," Suyudanta said. (pwn)