Overhail of Aceh schools urged after exam results
Overhail of Aceh schools urged after exam results
Syahruddin Hamzah, Antara News Agency/Banda Aceh
The education system in tsunami-hit Aceh has come under criticism
following last week's announcement that 49 percent of junior and
senior high school students in the province failed the national
examinations.
Aceh education office head Teuku Alamsyah said at least six
factors were responsible for the poor outcome:
The increase of the grade needed for a pass from 4.01 to 4.26,
the prolonged conflict in the province, the tsunami catastrophe,
the weak education monitoring system, the poor quality of
teachers and ill-suited teacher placement.
"In the future, good quality teachers should not be
transferred into administrative posts," Alamsyah said.
Some 49 percent of the 118,877 students in the province or
51,355 students failed the exams.
Many Acehnese students have been struggling to catch up with
their studies since the Dec. 26 tsunami. They are also grappling
with horrific memories and the loss of loved ones.
In spite of this, the high national exam failure rate has
drawn criticism from many quarters, particularly as the
government has channeled huge funds into the education sector in
the province. Last year, Rp 700 billion (US$73 million) was
designated for Aceh's education sector and this year the figure
was Rp 500 billion.
A further Rp 2.7 trillion has been budgeted for supporting
infrastructure such as teachers' training said Surahman and
Fitriadi, executives of the Indonesian Muslim Student
Association's (PII) Aceh chapter.
The PII said that given the extent of the funds some
improvements in the province's education system had been
expected.
"It seems the money has not been properly used to improve
education in the province," said the PII in a media statement.
The statement was distributed to the public during a mass
protest following the June 30 announcement of national exam
results. In the protest on Saturday, the students called for
education reforms.
Education expert at Syiah Kuala University Darni M. Daud said
revolutionary measures were needed to improve the province's
education system..
He said teachers who held second jobs in addition to their
regular jobs were a problem, though their low salaries were to
blame.
Through raising teachers' salaries their professionalism would
improve, he said, but students also needed to work harder.
Darni criticized education institutions that were quick to
pass students but ignored the quality of their educations.
"Money is not the only factor. Parents and teachers can
together improve education standards in the province," said
Darni.