Students pessimistic, worried about tough UAN

Students pessimistic, worried about tough UAN

The Jakarta Post, Semarang/Medan/Ambon/Kupang

It was only the first day of the final examinations, but students
across the country were already worried about failing to get a
pass grade of 4.01 in all subjects following a particularly tough
English paper.

The final exams for high school students will run for a week,
starting Monday. The exams in math, Bahasa Indonesia and English
will be based on the national standards set by the Ministry of
National Education, while the physics, biology, sociology and
economics examinations have been prepared by each school.

Bulan, one of 417 students from state senior high school SMA 1
in Semarang who are sitting in the final tests, said she had
taken a private English course, but she admitted she was confused
by the listening part of the exam.

"There were lots of words, and they sounded the same. Only
those who have really mastered the language could differentiate
between them and give the correct answers," she said.

At state high school SMA 3, also in Semarang, 577 students
taking the exams expressed their fears about whether would pass
and thus qualify to go on to higher education.

The anxiety was also felt by 163,721 students of both state
and private high schools who took the exams throughout South
Sumatra.

Nurhayati, a student of SMU Raksana Medan in Medan, said the
English exam was very difficult.

"I'm not sure if I will get a pass. I will be lucky to get a
3.0," she said dejectedly.

Nurhayati's fellow student Fahmi Hidayat also expressed
pessimism, saying the English test had been so difficult that he
doubted he would get anywhere near a pass.

In response to the students' complaints over the difficult
English paper, South Sumatra Education Agency director Sakhyan
Asmara said that those who failed to get a pass would be given a
second chance.

Elsewhere, in Ambon the first day of the final exams went off
smoothly. Despite the recent fighting there, 151 students -- 66
Muslims and 85 Christians -- were seen sitting their exams
together.

In Kendari, a total of 15,118 students sat the exams, while
1,557 did so in Biak, 54,000 in Padang, 39,547 in Aceh, and
34,213 in Bali.

In Kupang, however, the first day of the final exams was
marked by a teachers strike in five subdistricts: Wulanggitang,
East Adonara, Ileboleng, Witihama and Kelubagolit. The teachers
later backed down and the final exams proceeded smoothly.

The results of the UAN exams will be announced on June 14,
2004. Those who fail will be given the chance to retake the exams
between July 8 and July 10, 2004.