No Ebtanas for primary school beginning 2002
Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The government officially scrapped on Tuesday the national final examinations (Ebtanas) for general elementary schools, Islamic Madrasah Ibtidaiyah, and elementary schools for handicapped children, and authorized schools to organize their own final examinations and employ customized evaluation systems for their pupils.
Minister of National Education A. Malik Fadjar said on Tuesday that the new policies were expected to enhance the quality of education in the country, empower elementary schools based on the school-based management system, and democratize the country's education system.
"We have to democratize the education system by taking into account what the students need and by involving the community in the education process," Minister Malik told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
The new rulings were stipulated in two ministerial decrees signed on Monday by Minister Malik. The decrees are Decree No. 011/U/2002, which scraps the national final examination for elementary schools (Ebtanas) and Decree No. 012/U/2002 on final examinations and evaluation systems.
The two rulings entered into effect on Monday, the date they were signed by Minister Malik. This means that starting this year elementary schools and the Islamic Madrasah Ibtidaiyah, as well as elementary schools for handicapped children, will have to start organizing their own final examinations this school year.
The scrapping of Ebtanas for elementary schools became a necessity after the government introduced the nine-year compulsory education program in 1994. This program obliges all school-aged children graduating from elementary school to pursue their studies to the high-school level.
The new rulings authorize schools to organize their own final examinations -- including planning, the preparation of materials, the tests themselves, the correcting and marking system, and the submission of the necessary reports to the relevant agencies.
Upon completion of their six-year elementary schooling, the children are obliged to enroll for three years in a junior high school. These will now be free to organize screening tests or entrance examinations for the new students.
In the case of elementary graduates who do not meet the requirements set out by individual high schools, they will be encouraged to enroll in open junior high schools or sign up for a three-year program with institutions offering outreach education.