Ministry proposes new school curriculum

JAKARTA (JP): The Ministry of National Education is in the initial phase of trying out a new curriculum which will give schools the freedom to choose one of three curriculums most suitable to them.

The introduction of Curriculum 2001 is in line with plans for regional autonomy which is expected to take effect next year.

Law No. 22/1999 on regional autonomy and Law No. 25/1999 on intergovernmental law stipulate that provincial administrations will have a greater role and authority in managing their natural resources and affairs, including education.

The head of the Ministry's Research and Development Office Boediono said that the new curriculum is based on the reality that Indonesian schools are unequal in quality.

"Therefore, we will prepare three types of curriculums to choose from, depending on the school's administration ability to conduct the educational system," Boediono said.

The three categories of Curriculum 2001 are novice, intermediate and expert levels. It will apply to schools throughout the country, whether public, private or religious schools.

But there are basic minimum standards to be fulfilled by graduates no matter which curriculum their school adopts.

"In an elementary school, for example, the graduates are required to be able to read, count, and so on," Boediono said.

The Ministry will also set out the material that should be taught in each level, but the implementation is up to the individual schools to decide.

"Whether it's the teaching method, books, and other technical matters, we leave it all up to the school administration on what and how to conduct it. We only give references," Boediono said, claiming that such a system was already found in several countries in Europe.

Under the new curriculum, the existing final examination (Ebtanas) might be replaced by a new one which will be different at every level.

"It's still debatable, but Ebtanas has many weaknesses," said Boediono.

Ebtanas has received a lot of criticism recently due to the almost annual leaks of exam questions. It has also been criticized for not giving teachers enough freedom to teach by their own methods.

When asked about the possibility that parents might not want to register their children at schools which adopt the lower novice level, Boediono said that would be a natural occurrence.

"All parents want their children to be in a good school. But what if the children aren't qualified?" he said.

The new system, Boediono added, in fact will make schools in lower levels more motivated to increase their quality.

Boediono admitted that the new curriculum might not be perfect, that is why curriculum 2001 is first being tried 115 schools starting this 2000/2001 school year which began on Monday.

"We will then evaluate and make adjustments if necessary. Maybe it can take full effect in 2002," Boediono said.

While the specifics are still being worked out, he explained that each student would be tested on which school they would be most suitable for.

He asserted however that this should not stop the students from gaining access to higher education and from transferring to a higher school level if the student can show scholastic improvement.

Asked whether the school administrations are ready and able to implement the new curriculum, the Ministry's Director General of Elementary and Secondary Education Indra Djati Sidi was confident that it could.

"We have to stop being skeptical and think that school administrations in other provinces aren't ready. They are!" said Indra.

According to Boediono, every province will have an agency that acts as supervisor, especially for the schools on the novice level.

Meanwhile, education expert Mochtar Buchory said that the new curriculum is highly dependent on teachers' ability to develop their syllabus.

"But not many teachers can do that," he said, adding that teacher education in Indonesia is still very poor.

Mochtar also criticized the Ministry for unnecessarily making complicated curriculums.

"The important point is to accommodate students with different abilities. They also have to be taught knowledge of environment, knowledge of social and cultural matters and knowledge about oneself. No matter how smart a student is, it will be useless if he can't fit in society," he said. (09)