No Ebtanas for primary school beginning 2002

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.