Public scrutiny needed over new textbook policy
Public scrutiny needed over new textbook policy
JAKARTA (JP): The public, including parents of schoolchildren,
must closely monitor the selection and procurement of school
textbooks if state schools are permitted to select which books
are used, education experts said on Thursday.
Arief Rachman of Jakarta State University proposed the
establishment of a committee in each school comprising teachers,
parents and representatives of the public to monitor the new
policy now being considered by the government.
Such close supervision is necessary to prevent corruption and
collusion that may occur between book publishers and school
administrators, Arief said.
"There is this theory that says that the more people involved,
the tighter the control will be," he said.
Minister of National Education Abdul Malik Fajar said he fully
endorsed demands by many book publishers to subject the lucrative
business of procuring school textbooks to open and fair
competition.
Speaking after opening a seminar at the Indonesian Book Fair
2001, Malik said that, in the future the government would not be
the party responsible for procuring or conducting tender
processes for the publication of textbooks for state-run schools.
"There will be no procurement of prescribed school textbook
projects or bidding processes. The government will only provide
the funds," he said.
Currently, government-run schools provide most of their
textbooks to students for free. The books are produced by
publishers selected by the government through a bidding process,
a practice allegedly rife with corruption and collusion.
The Indonesian Publishers Association (Ikapi), which organized
the annual book fair, has urged the government to allow all
publishers to produce and sell prescribed school textbooks, a
market currently dominated by a select few publishers who obtain
the right through "unfair" bidding processes.
Malik said that, in the future, funds for the books would be
given directly to schools, which would have the authority to
determine which textbooks to use, instead of the publishers.
Malik said the government and Ikapi would cooperate to ensure
that all textbooks met national standards.
Arief said that, while schools would have greater freedom to
choose their textbooks, they should follow guidelines established
by the government.
Romli Syueb, a deputy headmaster of SMUN1 state high school in
Tangerang, said books prescribed by the government often did not
suit the students' needs.
He concurred with Arief's suspicion of the possibility for
collusive practices under the new school textbook policy.
The problem could be prevented if students, teachers and the
public formed a watchdog to make sure the procurement of
textbooks is conducted transparently and democratically, he said.
(07)