RI school system unable to tackle future challenges

JAKARTA (JP): A senior government official expressed doubts yesterday about the ability of the country's education system in preparing the nation to meet the challenges of the future.

"In my opinion, the education levels and cultures of our people are still inadequate in meeting future challenges, which will be far more complex and difficult," Rahardi Ramelan, deputy chairman of the National Development Planning Board, said.

Rahardi blamed this condition on the poor performance of the entire national education system, from the kindergarten to university level.

Poverty is very much a factor in this problem, he told a national seminar to discuss the problems and challenges facing the country's education and cultural sectors.

Many families, for economical reasons, do not send their children to kindergarten. They bypass this process and send them to primary schools, he said. This is reflected in the poor quality of primary school graduates. The problem is compounded when they move up to high school and later to universities.

The seminar, sponsored by the Ministry of Education and Culture, draws about 300 participants, mostly education experts. It is intended to gather material for the drafting of the government's Broad Guidelines of State Policy for the 1998-2003 period.

Other speakers addressing the forum yesterday included former education minister Fuad Hasan, Nurcholis Madjid of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences and the Rector of the Bandung Institute of Technology, Wiranto Arismunandar.

Rahardi said access to secondary education in Indonesia is still not evenly spread across the country. He did not offer any reasons, but pointed to a 1993 survey which showed that only 45 percent of Indonesia's high-school age children had access to school. In comparison, the rate in Malaysia was 58 percent, the Philippines 74 percent, Singapore 70 percent, and South Korea 90 percent.

He also noted the high drop-out rates for junior and senior high school students -- both in rural and urban areas -- which are mostly for economical reasons.

Rahardi questioned the effectiveness of the teaching methods adopted by schools, which have contributed to the low mastery of science, mathematics and languages (particularly foreign languages) commonly found among students.

The practice of giving homework should be reviewed, he said. Many students do not have the time to study at home because they have to help their parents earn a living. Besides, the low education backgrounds of their parents often hampers them from completing their homework properly.

At the university level, Rahardi said that many students spend longer time than what is normally required to complete their studies, something which he attributed to the bad management, poor curriculum and campus atmosphere that is often not conducive to studying. (31)