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)