Independent body to run exams

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

An independent body will be in charge of holding the national final school examinations (UAN) next year throughout Indonesia, thereby putting an end to the government's role, Minister of National Education Bambang Sudibyo told the House of Representatives Commission X on Monday.

"The government will still organize the UAN this year. Next year it will done by an independent body as stipulated in Education Law No. 58 verse 2," he told lawmakers during a hearing.

The decision by the current minister to continue the controversial UAN policy, which was first introduced last year by the previous administration, has drawn criticism from lawmakers and others, who said that the policy was against the law on education partly because of the government's direct role in organizing and running the national examination.

Other critics added that it was irrational to hold such exams because of the quality gap between schools in the country, and because it would push teachers to focus their attention on how their students could achieve high scores on just the three subjects being tested (English, Indonesian and mathematics). The system would also open up an opportunity for corruption, critics said.

The minister has been accused of failing to fulfill his earlier promise to eliminate the UAN policy completely. In reply to the criticism, Bambang said that the government had never been inconsistent about its promises. "It (idea of ending the exam) was only a tentative comment at the time when I was chosen as a minister."

The current Cabinet team was set up shortly after President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was inaugurated in October.

Meanwhile, lawmakers continued to criticize the UAN policy during Monday's meeting. Commission X chairman Heri Akhmadi insisted that the policy was inconsistent with the existing law, but he did not explain exactly how.

He also said that there was concern among lawmakers about possible corruption, particularly with the funds allocated for financing the UAN, because the details had not been spelled out in the 2005 state budget.

This year's test will be implemented in May and October. Starting from 2006, the UAN will be held in February and October. There will not be a second examination, meaning unsuccessful students will need to repeat their final year.

The minister and legislators were unable to reach an agreement on the possible solutions to the UAN problems. A meeting focused on those will be held on Thursday.(005)