Exam sneak preview sparks investigation

Exam sneak preview sparks investigation

JAKARTA (JP): The Ministry of National Education confirmed
here on Friday that makeups may have to be held by several
students in Jakarta and West Java following the discovery of
possible leaks in the just completed national high school final
examinations (Ebtanas).

Those who would have to take the makeup would do so on June 5.

Director General of Elementary and Secondary Education Indra
Djati Sidi said police would work with a special team under the
directorate general to weed out the source of the leaked exams.

"This is a criminal case because it involves the state's
confidential documents," Indra told reporters.

All students from Elementary, Junior High, and High Schools
throughout the country are required to pass an end-of-term
national evaluation test in order to continue to a higher level
of education.

The three-day examination for high schools students was held
starting May 22.

Indra said students from some high schools in Jakarta and West
Java were reported to have the question and answer sheets of the
examination days before it was due to be held.

He said several students have admitted to buying the sheets
from strangers.

According to Indra leaks in West Jakarta were found at SMU
Negeri 2 (State High School), SMU Negeri 55 Durentiga, SMU Negeri
19, SMU Negeri 38, and SMU Negeri 101.

Leaks were also found at SMU Negeri 71 and SMU Negeri 100 in
East Jakarta, Sumbangsih private high school and Al Azhar Islamic
high school in South Jakarta.

In West Java, leaks were found at least in four high school in
SMU Negeri 2, SMU Negeri 4, SMU Negeri 5, and SMU Negeri 7 in
Tangerang.

Ministry officials were still awaiting reports of leaks found
in other provinces.

Indra said full effort had been made to secure the examination
transcripts. "The printing and the delivery of the transcripts
were secured by security personnel."

He added that the ministry was tracing the flow of the
examination transcripts from the time they were drafted to their
delivery to regional offices.

Separately, the head of the Jakarta office of the Ministry of
National Education Alwi Nurdin said makeup examinations would be
held from June 5 to June 8, along with the one for students who
failed to show up for the initial examination.

"Students who should repeat the examination are those who are
implicated in making use of the leaked test data.

"Those whose exam results are far higher compared to their
daily scores are suspected," he told The Jakarta Post by phone.

He said that headmasters of the schools whose students were
implicated in the wrongdoing will be involved in determining
whether the students should take the makeups.

Alwi said the leaked test copies were not from Jakarta, which
has different test copies than other provinces.

"Those circulated in Jakarta have the exam directions printed
by computer, while the exam directions in the leaked copies were
manually printed.

"So, the leaked ones must have been from out of town," he
said.

Separately, chairman of the Jakarta Examination Committee,
Sulaeman Hariadi, said that the Jakarta office of the National
Education Ministry filed a report with city police headquarters
on Friday over the alleged use of unauthorized test copies.

In anticipation of repeated occurrences of leaks during the
national examination for junior high schools from June 5 to June
7, the Jakarta office of the National Education Ministry will
conduct tighter supervision of the students, Sulaeman said.

"We'll conduct body searches of the students," he said,
explaining that female students will be searched by female
teachers only.

Meanwhile, teachers of the schools where leaks were found
denied the possibility of teachers' involvement in the
wrongdoing.

"The room where the test copies were stored was locked.
Moreover, there were two officers from the Tamansari police
subprecinct (in West Jakarta) guarding the school during the
exam," said Hari, a teacher of SMUN 2 who was also responsible in
guarding the test copies.

However, another SMUN 2 teacher Saragih admitted that one of
some 450 students of the school joining the examination was found
keeping a leaked test copy on Wednesday.

Saragih said he hoped that the authorities would soon disclose
the result of their investigation, "so that teachers will not
feel uneasy about being suspected". (ind/imn/08)