"philosophy of the classroom in one generation will be the philosophy of government in the next."
- Abraham Lincoln-
day of National Education, May 2, the Minister of Education and Culture Mohammad Nuh , said: "National review plays only a small role in the country's education system the most important thing is to ensure that all children receive educational services.".
Since 2008, spending on education has been set at 20 percent of the budget through a constitutional amendment. The 2013 state budget for education shows an increase of 6.7 percent to Rp.331.8 trillion ($ 34.9 billion) of the Rp.310.8 trillion allocated in 2012, and is above the mandate 20 percent of state revenues of the planned government (Rp.1,508 billion)
as reported in the Jakarta Globe, President Yudhoyono said that the budget will be used to continue school to operational assistance program (BOS) for elementary and high school students, building 216 new schools while renovating hundreds of old, and to support the scholarship for the poor, which aims to 14.3 million students poor across the country.
"We will also launch the universal secondary education program (PMU) through school operational aid for 9.6 million high school students. We need to budget the best party of the education increasingly improve the quality of education and expand the scope of it. "
However, only Rp.66 billion, slightly less than 20 percent of , is allocated to the education and Culture Ministry, with most of the money set to go to other districts through programs such as BOS and PMU.
It is clear from statistics from the World Bank published last year, but only until 2010 given that in some areas, progress has been made. For example, elementary school (SD) of the pupil-teacher ratio (the number of pupils per teacher) was down 15.97 to 20.41 when President SBY was first elected, while schools secondary "(SMP and SMA) student-teacher ratio was reduced to 12.18 from 14.2.
However, these figures are distorted because the more remote areas of Indonesia, which often lack electricity, water and / or telephone coverage running, suffer from a shortage of teachers. The figures do not include teacher absenteeism by about 20 percent because many in the public school system must take second jobs or even third parties to supplement their meager incomes.
What teachers provide is determined by the national program established by each new Minister of Education. The country is about to have yet another imposed on students and teachers, his third in just ten years. The net result, as indicated by The learning curve , an "analysis of the performance of school systems in a global context" of the Economist Intelligence Unit, is that Indonesia is the basis of the 40 countries listed, including Hong Kong. key benchmarks were, among others, understanding, knowledge, education standards and graduation rates. Since the last survey in 2006, cognitive skills in mathematics and science declined
A main reason for the new program is to reduce the number of subjects that students are taught, some high school students are now expected to study as much as seventeen (yes -. 17) subjects in one year. Minister Mohammad Nuh argued that the focus on a thematic approach to integration was "appropriate to promote the consistent thinking of students and enhance their entrepreneurial skills."
If the "coherent thought" means interconnectivity and understanding the nature of the consequences, then we can agree. However, this understanding can only be achieved through the exploration and development of personal interests and talents and a program that encourages creativity and understanding within a pluralist communal context.
Howard Gardner, who developed the theory of multiple intelligences, argues that "students will be better served by a broader vision of education, wherein teachers use different methodologies, exercises and activities to achieve all students, not just those who excel at linguistic and logical intelligence. "
As for the" entrepreneurial skills ", having recently witnessed the activities in Sumur Batu landfill Bekasi for its waste, it was obvious that the great army of workers will have these skills but without receiving formal education, if any, beyond primary school. Here on the streets of Jakarta, the hawkers galore, peddling plastic housewares, distributors "meals on wheels" kiosks Seating and food warungs and unofficial parking attendants are all evidence of entrepreneurial activity.
If it fails, I suggest, is in the corridors of power.
Writing in the Jakarta Post, Donny Syofyan opine: "Although the formal school system of the country remains centralized, rigid and resistant to public innovation, various movements and alternative teaching innovations currently gushing from grass roots must be assessed as representing civic resistance and disappointment. "
Of course, a major reason for disappointment was the latest cock-up of the distribution of documents of the question and answer sheets for Ujian Nasional , national examinations, which, despite an inflated budget, arrived days late for school students in eleven provinces. Calls have been made to the Minister to resign, but few have offered an analysis of the examinations themselves. Teachers hate having to learn them, partly because they reflect the narrow mentality of bureaucrats who write them -. And fail to check
This is an example from one of up to twenty versions - to prevent cheating, it says -. The recent college English exam
I now ask the UN UM -. The Ujian Monyet
Apasi, apasi
Scratches head, grunts - ABCD
Ah, ini
On May 1, the former vice president Jusuf Kalla defended the national examination (UN) as improved ?! education in Indonesia. He said it took 10 years for a perceived political impact.
Must we wait so long?