Govt defends non-degree teachers training program

Govt defends non-degree teachers training program

JAKARTA (JP): The government defended it policy to continue a special training program for elementary school teachers yesterday, despite criticism of low-quality graduates emerging from the high-profile program.

"The program has only been running for two years. Don't compare it to a program which has been implemented for 10 years," said the Ministry of Education and Culture's Director General of Higher Education Bambang Soehendro.

The government introduced the ambitious two-year, non-degree program, known as PGSD, shortly after the government phased out elementary teacher schools in 1989.

Teacher training schools, or SPG, are equivalent to senior high schools. The government, however, has decided to phase them out as a step to upgrade the quality of elementary school teachers.

Legislators earlier this week criticized the PGSD program, saying that it needed a better, more conducive system which would enable its students to learn properly.

Wuryanto, a legislator from Commission IX of the House of Representatives which oversees educational and cultural affairs, said that the PGSD program should at least expose students to dorm life, which used to be an important aspect of teacher schools during the colonial times.

"By living in dorms, a conducive atmosphere encouraging good teaching habits, such as preparing for a teaching session the next day, can be encouraged. It is a place where a future teacher's character is molded," he said.

Bambang pointed out that the quality of PGSD students and graduates could not be compared to those from SPG.

"One thing you can't deny is that no matter how bad an education system is, it won't make you more stupid," he pointed out.

He said that current PGSD students were required to live in dorms for at least one semester.

"We have started building dorms. In the future we expect to have at least one dorm for each PGSD. Presently, those studying under scholarship programs -- which account for a third of all PGSD students -- are required to live in dorms until they graduate," he said. (pwn)