New curriculum dazes teachers

New curriculum dazes teachers

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Many elementary school teachers revealed that the implementation
of the new competence-based curriculum still had a long way to go
mainly due to the lack of preparation and supporting factors to
carry out the program.

"We have not yet received any information (from the
government) about the curriculum and when it will be implemented
in our school," Yusnelly, the principal of state elementary
school 05 Cilandak, South Jakarta, told The Jakarta Post on the
sidelines of a seminar on developing a smart and creative
generation, which was participated in by 1,500 elementary school
teachers here last Friday.

She also said that teachers at her school had not received
training in the new curriculum.

Yusnelly, who claims that she had only heard a little about
the curriculum, said that the new curriculum would be difficult
to carry out due to the shortage of teachers and the huge numbers
of students they have to oversee.

"At my school, there are only seven teachers to handle 260
students. It's impossible for us to keep our eye on them all
individually," said Yusnelly.

Similarly, Mansyur Usman of state elementary school 07
Balimester, Jatinegara, East Jakarta also admitted that apparent
constraints which could hamper the implementation of the new
curriculum were, among others, the students "shame culture."

Mansyur revealed that he often found that the active learning
method did not work in the classroom as the students were too shy
to speak out.

"I often try hard to stimulate the students to give more
active responses but I am unsuccessful as they are too shy to
speak out," Mansyur said.

Mansyur said posing questions in class was still not popular
among the children. "Those posing questions are often considered
stupid."

Besides, Mansyur said, the students' limited mastery of the
language could also prevent them from daring to speak in the
classroom.

He also said that his school which has 220 students had yet to
implement the new curriculum.

The government is planning to adopt a competence-based
curriculum in 2004, replacing the previous 1994 curriculum which
is considered too authoritarian and centralized.

The new curriculum is designed to empower the schools,
especially the teachers, to design their own education program so
that it is in accordance with the competencies needed by students
in each subject based on local conditions.

Therefore, unlike the previous curricula of 1975, 1984, and
1994, the new curriculum does not propose all the materials that
should be taught; rather it sets standards of competence that
students should acquire at certain levels of education.

The competence-based curriculum allows more leeway within
which schools and teachers can work. Schools and teachers,
therefore, have a greater role and responsibility in designing
the applied curriculum to ensure that students can achieve the
expected competence.

However, some teachers of private elementary schools revealed
that they have introduced the new curriculum to the students.

"We have started implementing the new curriculum since last
year, but so far, it implementation is still fraught by many
constraints," said Muhammad Amin of private elementary school
Dian Didaktika in Cinere, South Jakarta. The school has about 500
students.

He said that the lack of adequate supporting materials,
including books and displays were among the constraints that made
the new curriculum hard to implement.

Amin revealed that books and visual materials were needed to
make the subjects simpler and easier for the students.

"It is public knowledge that books here are very expensive so
that a great deal of funds are needed to procure them," Amin
said.