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