Students don't need extra lessons

JAKARTA: Minister of National Education Abdul Malik Fajar expressed concern on Saturday at the widespread habit among teachers of asking elementary school students to take after-class lessons in a bid to boost their performance.

Malik said, in his visit to his hometown of Magelang in Central Java, that students did not need extra lessons as they were already exhausted after their normal classes.

"Students are tired after having classes from 7 in the morning. It would be ineffective to require them to take extra lessons, not to mention the possibility that some children do not eat breakfast," Malik said, as quoted by Antara.

It is quite common for teachers to require students to attend after-school lessons ahead of their final exams.

According to the minister, students' performance was not the result of how frequently extra lessons were taken, but the teachers' enthusiasm in carrying out their duties.

"In the past teachers possessed the spirit and intention to dedicate themselves to their students' education," Malik recalled.

He suggested that students be taught "soft" lessons after 11 a.m., including singing, story-telling, drawing or handicraft.

"Moral values are easily inculcated among students during the leisure classes," Malik, who is a former teacher, said.

Malik visited state elementary schools in Pasuruhan and Deyangan subdistricts, where he handed over financial assistance to help the schools buy more equipment.

The minister was a 1952 graduate of the Deyangan elementary school. -- JP