Ministerial decree on remedial exams released

Ministerial decree on remedial exams released

Leony Aurora, Jakarta

The Minister of National Education has issued a decree to
officially reinstate second tests for junior and senior high
school students who fail their national final examinations this
year.

Ministerial Decree No. 037/U/2004 on remedial tests, signed on
April 26, also indicates the education ministry's determination
to push ahead with national exams, regardless of mounting public
outcry against them.

Indra Djati Sidi, the ministry's director general of
Elementary and Secondary Education, said here on Tuesday that
based on last year's results, 10 percent to 20 percent of
students would have scores lower than 4.01, and thus, fail the
exams.

He added, however, that with the extra effort of students and
teachers, the figure was expected to decline.

"We will give the (failed) students a second chance to improve
their grades," he said, adding the government had allocated Rp 20
billion (US$2.32 million) for the remedial tests.

The ministry had initially scrapped second tests for this
year's national exams. Previously, students with marks lower than
4.01 in any subject would not receive a "passing certificate" and
would have to wait a year to retake the tests.

Without the certificate, students cannot continue their
education to a higher level.

The education ministry has picked English, Bahasa Indonesia
and Maths as the subjects to be tested in the national exams,
while schools are in charge of the other subjects.

Second tests for the three subjects would be held nationally
from July 15 to July 17 for junior high school students and from
July 8 to July 10 for senior high school students.

Last year, 8 percent of students who took the exams failed to
pass the minimum grade of 3.01, but the remedial tests halved the
figure.

There is a possibility that students of some conflict-prone
areas, such as Papua, Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam and Maluku, would
be exempt from the exams.

"Our team is currently observing the areas to determine
whether or not students there can undergo the national exams,"
said Bahrul Hayat, head of the ministry's Center for Education
Assessment.

Teachers, third-year students, and concerned parents have
joined hands to protest the national exams, especially since try-
out tests indicated students were likely to achieve poor results.
They have demanded the exams be canceled, claiming the evaluation
of students should be in the hands of teachers rather than the
government.

On Monday, three major factions of the House of
Representatives -- the National Awakening Party (PKB), the Golkar
Party and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) --
said holding the compulsory exams was not in accordance with Law
No. 20/2003 on the national education system, which was endorsed
last year.

Indra said the ministry would provide details about the exams
in a hearing with House members, scheduled for either Wednesday
or Thursday.

"The policy (on the national exams) did not come about all of
a sudden but was based on input from the public, and education
experts," said Indra.

He added that a standard of quality was essential to push
students, teachers, and parents to put more effort into the
education process.