High school students celebrating after the results of
the national examinations were announced in Surabaya on Monday.
According to government figures, 89.6 percent of about 1.5 million
students who took the exams across the country passed
Despite government claims that the lower number of students passing the national examinations this year was due to tighter supervision that made cheating more difficult, education experts on Monday decried the poor result as a sign the country’s education system was falling apart.
The minister of national education, Muhammad Nuh, announced on Friday that 89.6 percent of the some 1.5 million high school students who took the exams this year had passed, a more than 5 percent decrease from last year.
Nuh said tighter monitoring had meant that students had less opportunities to cheat, which accounted for the drop in the number of those passing.
But the chairman of the Indonesian Independent Teachers’ Federation, Suparman, said the lower pass rate was symptomatic of a failing system.
The minister of national education, Muhammad Nuh, announced on Friday that 89.6 percent of the some 1.5 million high school students who took the exams this year had passed, a more than 5 percent decrease from last year.
Nuh said tighter monitoring had meant that students had less opportunities to cheat, which accounted for the drop in the number of those passing.
But the chairman of the Indonesian Independent Teachers’ Federation, Suparman, said the lower pass rate was symptomatic of a failing system.
“There are other factors why less students passed the exams,” he said, adding that the government could not just pass on the blame and make assumptions that would “simply make them look good.”
“Overall, there is no improvement in the education system,” Suparman said. “The government only uses the national exams for its own benefit.”
“This should be the last year the national exams are held.”
Suparman added that hinging three years of high school on just five days of intensive exams put a tremendous amount of pressure on students.
A Supreme Court decision in January upheld a Jakarta High Court verdict that said this year’s national exams could only be held if the government made improvements to their implementation. A lawsuit was filed last year by a group of concerned teachers, students and parents who demanded the exams be dropped.
Suparman said the government still needed to make significant changes to the exams if they were to be held again next year.
“The exams’ substance must be upgraded,” he said, adding that students’ grades over previous semesters should also be considered to give a more accurate picture of their overall performance.
Arief Rachman, an education expert at Jakarta State University, said the most pressing issue was the regional differences in education that disadvantaged some students.
“For example, it’s impossible for students in provinces in eastern Indonesia to compete with students in Jakarta,” he said, adding that the lack of educational resources in remote regions made it more difficult for those students.
In this year’s exams, East Nusa Tenggara suffered the largest failure rate, with more than half of its 35,200 students having to retake the national exams on May 10-14.
Nurkholis Hidayat, director of the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute, which brought the lawsuit to have the national exams dropped, said the group would continue to push for a better education system.
“Exams should only be used to measure how well students do in school,” he said, “and not be a requirement to graduate.”
“Overall, there is no improvement in the education system,” Suparman said. “The government only uses the national exams for its own benefit.”
“This should be the last year the national exams are held.”
Suparman added that hinging three years of high school on just five days of intensive exams put a tremendous amount of pressure on students.
A Supreme Court decision in January upheld a Jakarta High Court verdict that said this year’s national exams could only be held if the government made improvements to their implementation. A lawsuit was filed last year by a group of concerned teachers, students and parents who demanded the exams be dropped.
Suparman said the government still needed to make significant changes to the exams if they were to be held again next year.
“The exams’ substance must be upgraded,” he said, adding that students’ grades over previous semesters should also be considered to give a more accurate picture of their overall performance.
Arief Rachman, an education expert at Jakarta State University, said the most pressing issue was the regional differences in education that disadvantaged some students.
“For example, it’s impossible for students in provinces in eastern Indonesia to compete with students in Jakarta,” he said, adding that the lack of educational resources in remote regions made it more difficult for those students.
In this year’s exams, East Nusa Tenggara suffered the largest failure rate, with more than half of its 35,200 students having to retake the national exams on May 10-14.
Nurkholis Hidayat, director of the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute, which brought the lawsuit to have the national exams dropped, said the group would continue to push for a better education system.
“Exams should only be used to measure how well students do in school,” he said, “and not be a requirement to graduate.”
