Major DPR factions say no to national exam

M. Taufiqurrahman Jakarta

Joining the chorus rejecting the nationwide final examinations sponsored by the Ministry of National Education, three major factions at the House of Representatives (DPR) demanded on Monday that the government abort the planned exams.

The National Awakening Party (PKB), the Golkar Party and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) factions argued that the examinations violated Law No. 20/2003 on national education, which they deliberated and endorsed last year.

"We have stated clearly that the planned exams violate the Education Law, as it stipulates that only teachers -- not the government -- have the right to evaluate how students have performed in their studies," Taufiqurrahman Saleh of the PKB faction, also chairman of House Commission VI on education, said at a hearing between the commission and coalition of concerned NGOs.

He pledged that all Commission VI members would join forces to block the planned exams during a hearing on Wednesday between the commission and Minister for National Education Abdul Malik Fajar.

"We have decided upon our stance and will be resolute in demanding the scrapping of final examinations," he said.

Taufiqurrahman said the ministry's plan only worsened the condition of education, which has consistently deteriorated over the years.

Also present at the hearing were Heri Akhmadi of the PDI-P faction and Anwar Arifin of the Golkar Party faction, who took turns in reiterating their factions' objections to the exams.

Anwar said Golkar rejected the exams, as its realization would mean that thousands of students from poor provinces would fail.

"Due to financial constraints afflicting students from poor provinces such as Papua, (such students) have difficulty catching up with their peers from more developed provinces in the tested subjects," he said, adding that the government should let individual schools hold the exams.

Earlier, the PDI-P faction had urged the education minister to call off his plan for centralized final exams. The faction said Ministerial Decree No. 153/U/2003, upon which the national final exams were based, contradicted Article 58 (1) of the Education Law stipulating that teachers were to evaluate their students and review their ongoing progress and improvement.

"Instead of being entangled in the exams issue, it would be better if the ministry concentrated on making improvements in national education," Heri said.

Despite the public outcry, the ministry has said it would press ahead with the nationwide final examinations, scheduled to take place from May 10 to May 15.

It has prepared for a nationwide test in three subjects -- Mathematics, English and Bahasa Indonesia -- while other subjects are to be prepared by individual schools.

The plan has met with widespread resistance from teachers who feel that their authority is being undermined by the ministry, students who were afraid of failing the test and parents who were stressed by the increased strain upon their children.

Concerned NGOs in the coalition alleged that the national exams would be rife with corruption, as it would involve the disbursement of Rp 260 billion (US$30 million) to state-run and private schools to cover administrative costs of the exams.

The coalition has requested that the Supreme Court conduct a judicial review about the validity of the ministerial decree on final exams against the existing law.