Parties demanding educational reform

JAKARTA (JP): A tale of a sinking ship with students on board could simply explain what's wrong with the national education system, Muhammadi of the National Mandate Party (PAN) said during a public presentation of the party's platform on education on Saturday.

The ship, Muhammadi continued, was fully loaded with Japanese, American and Indonesian students when it sprang a leak and water began to swamp it.

Japanese students were quick to find life rafts and life jackets, while their American counterparts tried to seal the leak. The Indonesians did nothing but sit quietly in a corner.

When asked why they sat still, they answered: "Because our teacher never told us how to save ourselves."

"Japanese students are the result of a professional education system while Americans are more democratic and are used to working as a team," Muhammadi said, "and the education system here produces passive students."

Muhammadi was among representatives of six major political parties contesting the June 7 polls who spoke at a public hearing on educational reform held by the Institute for Education and Social Economic Research (IESER) on Saturday. The event was organized in connection to National Education Day which fell on May 2.

Other speakers were Mochtar Buchori of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), Burhan D. Magenda of the Golkar Party, R.B. Suryama of the Justice Party, Alwi Shihab of the National Awakening Party (PKB), and Saleh Khalid and Rusydi Hamka of the United Development Party (PPP).

The parties were united in demanding sweeping reform in the national education system. Among the demands were decentralization and a more democratic atmosphere in education, improvement in the quality and welfare of teachers and revision of the national curriculum.

Below is an excerpt of the six parties' agenda on education reforms:

PDI Perjuangan

* Total revision of the 1994 national curriculum is a must. It is considered overloaded and burdensome to students and their parents.

* All levies, school fees and any form of donation must be abolished.

* Final school examinations sanctioned by the government must be replaced by a more suitable evaluation system because it is too centralized and prone to fraud.

* Education must be free of political intervention. It must be responsive to change and give teachers the freedom to perform their professional duties.

* Provide a more democratic atmosphere for the learning and teaching processes. An amicable relationship between teachers and students is recommended without sacrificing teachers' authority.

Golkar

* A crash program is needed to save millions of students who are on the verge of dropping out. Programs such as the social safety net program would be recommended.

* Within three years, scholarships and other educational assistance must be first given to students who are in their final school years.

* Pragmatic educational institutions must be established in the long run to provide students with sufficient practical skills to prepare them for the workforce.

PAN

* The national curriculum must be canceled. It is the source of uniformity in education, through which creative thinking is suffocated and a passive generation is designed.

* Set a minimum standard of curriculum. Leave the rest of the teaching substances to the provinces and accommodate people's aspirations.

* A back to ethics education is needed to inculcate moral values to students. Avoid indoctrination of the state ideology Pancasila but teach students a true, accessible and new redefinition of ideological values.

PKB

* Education must be separated from power. Do not politicize education for the benefit of rulers.

* Wide-range autonomy in education is a must.

* Establish an information network on education through available technology.

* High appreciation of scientific and technological achievement must become a culture.

* Set up an educational code of ethics.

* Reconstruct national education philosophy based on nationhood, western culture and religious values.

Justice Party

* Mobilize volunteers to provide education to make amends for unequal teacher distribution.

* Extensive basic teaching of reading, writing and counting in rural areas has to be done.

PPP

* Set up a professional management of remuneration, promotion, pension and tenure of teachers.

* Improve facilities in schools and universities.

* Support grassroots teaching method through, among other things, study groups or boarding schools.

All of the six parties also pledged an increased education budget for the next fiscal year.

"If we successfully do so, at least teachers and academicians would earn better salaries. I believe all parties have strong commitment on this," Golkar's Burhan said.

"But we won't know that until after the elections, will we? So let's see who wins the elections," Mochtar replied. (edt)