Many teachers unqualified

Many teachers unqualified

JAKARTA: At least 62 percent of millions of elementary and
junior high school teachers throughout Indonesia do not meet the
requirements to teach, thereby affecting the quality of school
graduates, Rector of state-run Jakarta University Sutjipto said
on Saturday.

Speaking at the inauguration of 1,198 graduates of the
university, Sutjipto said that the poor condition of the teaching
and learning activities was based on data from the Ministry of
National Education's research and development agency.

Based on data from the agency, it's high time for the
government to help improve the quality of teachers, he said.

Indonesia's quality of education, according to a Singapore-
based consulting institute, was ranked 109th of 174 countries
last year, with its competitive advantage being 46th of 100
developing countries.

Sutjipto underlined the importance of changing the teaching
system from one focusing on learning by rote to one on two-way
interaction, which enables students to be creative.

The state universities, which produce elementary, junior and
senior high school teachers, have to improve the quality of their
education by evaluating lecturers' achievement periodically, he
said. -- Antara