Private schools must respect Indonesian system

Private schools must respect Indonesian system

Pieter Van Der Vienhart, Tilburg, Netherlands

Indonesian newspapers often feature articles, promotionals and
advertorial materials touting the considerable number of private
schools that are either now operational or opening up in Jakarta.
Concerns have also been expressed about the strong promotional
ideology put forward that will either encourage caution or sell
the idea that these schools are the way forward, principally for
those parents that can afford them.

Financial costs and the expense of these schools are naturally
a central consideration, but we should also consider whether
Indonesia, as a nation, can afford to allow these schools to
continue to proliferate. If they are creating philosophically and
psychologically negative sentiments toward the Indonesian
national state-run schools, then that can pose real problems.

Often these private schools are being opened under the title
of "national plus" schools, but it is quite disturbing that, as
has been estimated, only around half of these schools really
achieve anything that might be considered a "plus" in comparison
to the regular state schools.

The allusion to state schools being in some way, (often ill
defined or not defined at all), inferior to "national plus"
schools; may be seen as representative of stimuli for negative
philosophical and psychological attitudes toward the vast
majority of schools in Indonesia. Some schools are quite open and
even proud to claim that they do not follow the national
curriculum. This in itself should be seen as offensive and
unacceptable.

And this kind of attitude can have a fallout affect on
students. Students may well get the idea that the Indonesian
national curriculum and the standard state schools are inferior
and so they, in essence, are being taught in an inferior system.
They may also perceive that the expensive private schools are
less Indonesian and thus "more than and better than Indonesia".

Schools that are committed to what is right and necessary for
Indonesian students and for Indonesia are surely doing what is
desirable, right and proper for Indonesia, but schools that are,
either consciously or unconsciously, stimulating doubt and
misgivings about the schooling system may have a commitment that
is not exactly desirable.

Private schools should be committed to quality and the
advancement of the educational process and system for Indonesian
students and Indonesia. If private schools are simply "opting
out" of the national system, then the suggestion is that they are
really no longer "national" schools regardless of any titles,
claims or notions of being "plus".

Many private schools clearly state they follow non-Indonesian
curricula, but often highlight the fact that they do also offer
the Indonesian language or "Indonesian Studies". This means that
they are not really national schools at all but are in fact
international schools. This, in turn, means that they are quite
simply an entirely different educational organization and should
therefore be treated differently.

Clearly then there is a need for control, regulation and
appropriate monitoring of private schools in Indonesia. Although
there are various associations that have been created to build
affiliations and move toward some form of checks and balances,
these associations are largely powerless and weak.

This leaves a massive amount of room for abuse and subsequent
dissatisfaction for all parties involved in schools -- including
students, parents and teachers. As one Indonesian teacher,
perhaps rather cynically, often points out to me, "right now
anyone with enough money can open a school in Indonesia, but
mostly they do so just to make money."

Confusion and even deception can easily ensue when
insufficient systems for monitoring, checking and accreditation
are applied and this can hurt the whole education system in
general and parents in particular.

The problems of "language of instruction" can often be at the
forefront of parents' concerns. A number of parents have
emphasized that they have chosen certain private schools
expressly because they have been promoted to them as English-
language schools with "native speaker teachers". But promotions
and fulfilled promises can be two entirely different things.

These kinds of encounters are unfortunate and may happen in
many countries and in many different schools. Schools always have
to develop, as do their teaching staff, but without sufficient
accreditation schemes and systems for monitoring and ensuring the
maintenance of standards, these encounters will be too frequent
and too damaging.

There are some excellent private schools that offer a high-
quality education, but even these should be monitored, and such
monitoring could also contribute to the development of "best
practices" for other schools.

Currently the "market" for private schools can at times amount
to something of a minefield that parents have to tread carefully
and lightly through to avoid disasters for their children. Proper
accreditation and monitoring can and will assist parents and
assist Indonesia's development.

The writer is an education consultant. He can be reached at
pietervdv48@hotmail.com.