Schools ignorant of 'genius search'

Dyah Apsari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The first round of the selection process to find exceptional students for the newly established DKI Super Class was a quiet affair on Wednesday.

Only 120 freshmen from 16 state high schools attended the three-hour test although 3,000 junior high school graduates who scored a perfect 10 in the final mathematics exam were expected to turn up.

"I think information on the program did not reach the parents," said one of the organizers, Rini, who works at the School of Engineering at Pancasila University in Depok, where the test was held.

The so-termed DKI Super Class -- DKI is the acronym for Jakarta -- was initially scheduled to start up in late August. The class will be located in State High School No. 3 in Setiabudi, South Jakarta. The program gives exceptional students in Greater Jakarta free education and the chance to be coached as an international Science Olympiad candidate.

The test on Wednesday -- which involved the Jakarta Secondary and Higher Education Agency, a group of the University of Indonesia's psychologists and the team of judges for the National Science Olympiad, as well as Pancasila University representatives -- commenced at 8:30 a.m.

The students were asked to solve hundreds of problems to test their logical thinking, numerical and verbal capability as well as their level of concentration.

"This process is aimed at finding a student who has not merely a high IQ of 150, but who is also stable emotionally and mentally," said Posma Marbu, head of the human resources section of the city's secondary and higher education agency.

He said if the quota of 24 students for the special class was not met another test would be arranged.

The test results will be announced on Sept. 3, he said.