On competency-based curriculum

In writing about the new competency based curriculum currently being introduced into the education system in Indonesia (Benefits and pitfalls of the new curriculum, The Jakarta Post, June 25), Alpha Amirrachman correctly highlights many of the issues surrounding this significant change.

While the original impetus for the introduction of the new curriculum could be debated (seeing it as simply a consequence of decentralization seems too narrow an interpretation to me), Pak Alpha correctly identifies the numerous interrelated issues and challenges that the implementation of the competency-based curriculum presents -- the potential difficulties re- "decentralization" of curriculum design, the mismatch with the content-based national examinations, the need for teacher professional development, appropriate teaching materials and resources, as well as clear standards with which to measure competencies, and the need for support from local government and the private sector to meet these needs.

However, I feel that the use of the word "incompetent" to describe about 50 percent of all teachers gives an impression that is both unfair and incorrect. To many people, the word "incompetent" in English carries with it negative connotations -- someone who is so bad at their job that they are almost incapable of improving.

While all professions -- medical, legal, academic, etc. -- have a small percentage of people who could be classified as "incompetent", the experience of Save the Children UK education staff who have been working with the Ministry of Education in West Timor, Maluku, North Maluku and West Kalimantan to train primary school teachers in active learning, student-centered methodologies which support the competency-based curriculum, shows that while the majority of teachers may currently lack the competence to implement the competency-based curriculum, they are far from "incompetent" and are eager to improve their knowledge and skills in this area. The problem is that they have previously received little, if any, support to do so.

With budgeting for education now decentralized, it is essential that those who make the decisions regarding education budgets, particularly at the district level, allocate more funding for primary education and particularly for in-service training for teachers (often neglected in favor of new buildings). Without this support, the implementation of the new curriculum will become, as the writer points out, just another ineffective Band-Aid solution to the problems within the education system.

JOHN HOWE, National Education Adviser, Save the Children UK, Jakarta