With no formal counseling program for schools, reports on students stressed out by this year’s national examinations have been forwarded to an independent monitoring center.
Nurcholis Hidayat, who heads the center launched by a group of teachers and activists, said on Thursday that more than 10 students had already reported wrongdoing in this year’s national exams, which kicked off on Monday.
“Most of the reports filed were from students who claimed they were stressed out after the exams,” he said, adding that some students said they had been crying in fear of not passing the tests.
The government, Nurcholis said, has again failed to establish a counseling center for students who struggle to cope with the pressure.
“The fact that [the exam] is a requirement to graduate has put pressure on them.” he said. “The government must be responsible for this.”
Djemari Mardapi, head of the National Education Standardization Agency (BSNP), said it would start establishing counseling programs this year, working with state universities in various provinces.
“We actually have volunteer counsellors from state universities in several areas already and students are free to consult them about the difficulties they are facing,” he said.
According to data from the Ministry of National Education, about 2.5 million high school students are taking the tests this week across the country.
Hadi Supeno, head of the Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI), said the national exams were held in tense circumstances, with children being monitored closely by teachers in class. “This monitoring is disturbing their psychological condition,” he said, adding that students become victims because the blame is on them when they cannot pass the exams.
Hadi said students in more remote areas such as in eastern Indonesia were effectively discriminated against because they had to take the exams in an “unfair situation.”
“They do not have the same facilities as students in big cities such as Jakarta,” he said. Despite the disparity in resources, all students are evaluated using the same national standard.
The government, Hadi said, should collect data on children who did not pass the exam because some of them may not be able to continue on to university.
“The government should give them special attention to make sure they can continue at least with non-formal studies,” he said.
Rudy Purboyo, a spokesman for the Ministry for Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection, said that it would to evaluate the national exams together with the Education Ministry.
Nurcholis Hidayat, who heads the center launched by a group of teachers and activists, said on Thursday that more than 10 students had already reported wrongdoing in this year’s national exams, which kicked off on Monday.
“Most of the reports filed were from students who claimed they were stressed out after the exams,” he said, adding that some students said they had been crying in fear of not passing the tests.
The government, Nurcholis said, has again failed to establish a counseling center for students who struggle to cope with the pressure.
“The fact that [the exam] is a requirement to graduate has put pressure on them.” he said. “The government must be responsible for this.”
Djemari Mardapi, head of the National Education Standardization Agency (BSNP), said it would start establishing counseling programs this year, working with state universities in various provinces.
“We actually have volunteer counsellors from state universities in several areas already and students are free to consult them about the difficulties they are facing,” he said.
According to data from the Ministry of National Education, about 2.5 million high school students are taking the tests this week across the country.
Hadi Supeno, head of the Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI), said the national exams were held in tense circumstances, with children being monitored closely by teachers in class. “This monitoring is disturbing their psychological condition,” he said, adding that students become victims because the blame is on them when they cannot pass the exams.
Hadi said students in more remote areas such as in eastern Indonesia were effectively discriminated against because they had to take the exams in an “unfair situation.”
“They do not have the same facilities as students in big cities such as Jakarta,” he said. Despite the disparity in resources, all students are evaluated using the same national standard.
The government, Hadi said, should collect data on children who did not pass the exam because some of them may not be able to continue on to university.
“The government should give them special attention to make sure they can continue at least with non-formal studies,” he said.
Rudy Purboyo, a spokesman for the Ministry for Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection, said that it would to evaluate the national exams together with the Education Ministry.
