Participation in state university's entrance test falls

JAKARTA (JP): The number of participants of the state university entrance test decreased from 422,696 last year to approximately 420,000 this year.

They are competing in a two-day test which started yesterday for 61,578 seats in 45 state universities across the country.

The rector of the University of Indonesia, Dr. M.K. Tadjudin, who is also the coordinator of Region A which comprises 17 state universities in Sumatra, Jakarta and West Java, confirmed the four percent drop.

At the same time, Soesmalijah Soewondo, the test chief coordinator for Jakarta, said that the number of participants in region A was less than 213,187. She based her estimation on the number of the application forms that had been sold.

Earlier Soesmalijah has said that not everyone who purchased the form would take part in the test.

The decrease was ubiquitous in big cities, such as Jakarta (from 68,091 in 1993 to 67,339 this year), Bandung (from 51,729 to 51,237), Surabaya (from 31,774 to 31,128) and Medan (from 28,968 to 28,248).

Tadjudin had said before that the decrease was caused by the greater number of students applying to private universities, the quality of which has significantly improved. He also blamed an increased sense of pessimism on the part of students, many of whom assumed they will not pass.

However, the decrease was not seen among blind participants, as their number increased from 24 last year to 38 this year.

The blind

Accompanied by Soesmalijah and Anna Suhaenah Soeparno, the rector of the Teachers' Training Institute (IKIP), Tadjudin inspected the tests for blind students, given at the University of Indonesia campus and at some high schools.

Tadjudin said that the committee gave 30 extra minutes for the blind participants to finish their tests. The three hour exam was extended to compensate for the added difficulty of reading the Braille exam sheet.

In Jakarta there were four blind and one low-vision participants.

Tadjudin said that, as of next year, the committee might attach the participant's score along with the announcement after a proposal from the public.

The rector said that the test organizing committee had tried their best to choose the most convenient test locations for the participants.

Tadjudin said that the participants who bought the application form collectively were in a better position to receive a test site that was close to their place of residence.

A number of participants from East Bekasi, West Java, complained bitterly, yesterday, because they were assigned to a test site in Kebayoran Lama district, South Jakarta.

"We had to catch a bus at 5 p.m," one said. (03)