Semester system to replace the quarterly scheme

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The quarterly system currently being applied in the national education curriculum from elementary to senior high school will be replaced by the semester scheme starting next year, an official said on Tuesday.

"Evaluating lessons using the semester system like in university will be more advantageous," the Ministry of National Education's director general of elementary and high school education, Indradjati, said.

Speaking after presenting awards to winners of an essay writing contest on Korea, Indradjati said one of the advantages was that it would enable students to learn in depth over a longer period of time, not in several stages followed by holidays like in the current system.

The semester system would also enable both teachers and students to make better preparations for better evaluations, Indradjati said.

He said that the new system would be less of a financial burden to students' parents as only two textbooks would be used per subject per year instead of the three per subject in the current system.

"Preparations for introducing the semester system are still being made and its proposal has been advanced to the minister in the hope that it can be fully applied next year," he said as quoted by Antara.

In a related development, the Ministry of National Education will allow schools to decide for themselves whether to close for an Idul Fitri holiday, an official said on Tuesday.

"Schools, whether public or private, can determined the arrangement of the Ramadhan holiday by themselves, as long as they don't sacrifice effective school days," Indradjati Sidi, director general for elementary and secondary schools, said. The fasting month of Ramadhan starts in mid-November and ends with Idul Fitri on Dec. 16 and Dec. 17.

The ministry will offer two options: either a long holiday at the end of Ramadhan, or a shorter holiday at the beginning of the fasting month after which school would resume until the year-end holiday, he announced after presenting the 2001 Essay Writing on Korea awards.

Schools that decide against the longer Ramadhan holiday could have a longer Christmas and year-end holiday.

However, schools will be required to notify and coordinate with the their respective provincial-level offices of the Ministry of National Education regarding their school holidays.

The ministry will issue official letters to schools nationwide regarding the matter.

In the past, state schools were obliged to accept the government-set Idul Fitri holiday schedule. At one time, no state school was allowed to hold classes during the whole month of Ramadhan.