In observance of Mother’s Day

Indonesia celebrates its Mother’s Day, known as Hari Ibu, on Dec. 22. Mother’s Day is celebrated on various days in many parts of the world, most commonly in March, April or May,
as a day to honor mothers and
motherhood.

In most countries Mother’s Day is a recent observance derived from the holiday as it evolved in the United States. When adopted by other countries and cultures it was given different meanings, associated to different religious, historical and legendary events, and celebrated on different dates.

Indonesia’s Mother’s Day contains many historical, philosophical and cultural meanings. It is the day of the first Indonesian Women’s Congress held on Dec. 22-26 in 1928, in Yogyakarta.

The Congress passed an important resolution calling for improvements to women’s access to education, the provision of better information at the time of marriage and on women’s divorce rights.

The idea to make the day official started during the third Indonesian Women’s Congress in 1938. In the spirit of national integration, the Congress led to the formation of a federation known as Kongres Wanita Indonesia (KOWANI), a broad-based umbrella organization of more than 75 women’s organizations.

Feminist organizations in Indonesia have existed since 1912 with the formation of the first women’s organization, Poetri Mardika, and inspired by Indonesian heroines of the 19th century who promoted women’s rights and fought against colonialism, such as Raden Adjeng Kartini, Tri Buana Tungga Dewi, Martha Christina Tiahahu, Cut Nyak Dhien, Cut Meutia, Maria Walanda Maramis, Dewi Sartika, Nyai Ahmad Dahlan, Rasuna Said and Nyi Ageng Serang.

Indonesia’s Mother’s Day originally aimed to celebrate the spirit of Indonesian women and to improve the condition of the nation. Today, Mother’s Day is celebrated by expressing love and gratitude
to mothers.

People always associate it with wearing national dresses, holding various competitions and allowing mothers to be free from their routine daily duties at home.

The role of mothers is highly treasured. We could not imagine how a family would be without mothers performing their roles and responsibilities. There are countless tasks that fall to mothers, from birthing, nursing, diapering, nose-wiping and nurturing.

According to the old maxim, a woman’s work is never done. As stated by political economist Marilyn Waring, a former New Zealand parliamentarian, woman’s work as unpaid labor makes all of the rest of work possible and the market wouldn’t survive if it wasn’t able to survive on the backbone of unpaid work.

Waring calculates that unpaid labor is the largest contributor of any economy, and all around the world most of that work is performed by women.

According to the United Nations, although women make up half the world’s population, they own only 1 percent of its wealth. Today the majority of women become mothers — approximately more than 80 percent globally.

Due to the invisibility and marginality of mothers’ work, Andrea O’Reilly, a women’s studies professor at Toronto’s York University started the Motherhood Initiative for Research and Community Involvement (MIRCI), which is the newly launched feminist scholarly and activist organization on motherhood, developed from the former Association for Research on Mothering at York University (1998-2010).

MIRCI’s activities include convening conferences, publishing journals, organizing Mother Outlaw’s community gatherings, and holding informal discussion groups on mothering and motherhood.

According to many feminists, motherhood is the unfinished business of the feminist movement, and nowadays higher attention is given to mothering and motherhood.

Nothing compares to what mothers do daily. What they do is priceless and dignified. An Islamic adage says that “heaven lies at Mother’s feet”.

This implies children be obedient and respectful to their mothers because mothers always want and pray for the best for their children.

On this precious Mother’s Day, let us respect and love our mothers more and more. Their love keeps showering their families every single second. Selamat Hari Ibu.

No ‘free healthcare’ for poor families

Luh Kaca, a poor resident of Dauh village in Sawan, panicked when her son fell unconscious while playing outside her modest home last weekend.

She rushed to Singaraja regional hospital in the hope he could get free medication, as she had read about in the newspaper.

She thought that poor people like her could access to the Bali Mandara Health Insurance plan, which would cover her medical costs.

“It was all lies. The hospital informed me that there was no room for poor patients using the Bali Mandara plan,” the 40-year-old mother said.

The hospital’s staff suggested she take a first class inpatient room and forced her to sign an agreement letter which stated that she could pay the regular tariff for top tier medical services.

“I took the first class room because I had no choice. My son needed emergency treatment. I just don’t know how to pay it later,” Luh Kaca said, adding that she brought documents, including her identity card, family
registration card and a letter stating that her family had not been covered by any health insurance plan.

Ketut Selamet had a different story. He accompanied his neighbor Made Supala to the same hospital. Selamet, a lawyer, fully understood that Supala and other residents from low-income families would be given free medical services at state hospitals in Bali.

“When we arrived at the hospital a staff member told me that all rooms designated for families participating in the Bali Mandara plan were already occupied,” Selamet said.

Selamet insisted that the hospital must accept Supala and release him from any medical expenses. “I firmly asked the staff to provide the necessary treatment because I know what the program is. I threatened the hospital’s management with exposing this case to the local media,” Selamet said.

The hospital finally reluctantly agreed to accept Made Supala, who is still being treated.

“This was discriminative treatment. The hospital would play around first. Poor families with lack of knowledge and education would certainly become the hospital’s victims. This is against the philosophy behind Bali Mandara health plan,” Selamet said.

The Bali Mandara free healthcare service, launched in January 2010, is one of Governor Made Mangku Pastika’s pet programs.

Residents only need to produce valid ID and a written statement declaring that they do not have health insurance.

The Bali administration allocates Rp 181 billion (US$20 million) per year for the program.

“The free healthcare service is our most strategic move to ensure that even the poorest members of our society are still able to receive proper healthcare,” Mangku Pastika said, adding that an online system would also be installed at every state and regional hospital in Bali.

“However, this policy seemed like lip service. It is only good on paper but not in reality. It is poor people that bear the burden of policy inconsistency,” Selamet said.

Singaraja regional hospital director Nyoman Mardana strongly denied this accusation, stating that these were the acts of irresponsible staff.

“As long as patients bring all required documents, we will immediately process their medical services,” Mardana said.

Two Balinese students represent RI at int’l conference

Two Balinese students will represent Indonesia at the International Conference of Young Scientists (ICYS) in Moscow in April next year.

The two students, Luh Laksmi Dharayanti Satria from SMAN 1 high school Singaraja and Jessica Ikhwan from SMA CHIS Denpasar, will join 11 other students selected from Indonesia at the prestigious conference.

The main aims of the conference are: to develop international postgraduate students and young scientists; to involve them in
solving current problems in science; to maintain and develop a uniform scientific and educational space; and to establish ties with future colleagues.

The conference will consist of 30 sections which reflect the main fields of modern science, including physics, mathematics, computer science and environment.

The 13 students representing Indonesia are winners of the National Young Scientists Competition.

The selected students are Arief Ridho Kusuma from SMAN 1
Samarinda and Sallie Naomi from SMP St. Laurensia junior high school in Tangerang in the physics category.

Mathematics will be represented by Michael Sunarto from SMP Chandra Kusuma in Medan and Christa Lorenzia Soesanto from SMA St. Laurensia in Tangerang.

In computer science, Indonesia will present Reza Abdurahman from SMA Taruna Nusantara-Magelang and Ganang Albryansah from SMPN 1 Bontang.

Seven students will compete in the environmental studies category. They are Dwiky Rendra Graha Subekti from SMA Theresiana 1 in Semarang; Fialdy Josua Pattirajawane from SMP Chandra Kusuma in Medan; Luthfi Mu’awan from SMAN 1 Purwareja; Jessica Lo from SMA Kristen Cita Hati in Surabaya, Christy Hong from SMA St. Laurensia, Tangerang, and the two Balinese students.

Monika Raharti, coordinator of ICYS Indonesia, said that the Indonesian delegation usually received accolades at the international young scientist forum.

“Indonesian students grabbed general awards at the 2009 ICYS in Poland,” Raharti said.

Most Indonesian students presented scientific research and works that were unique and applicable to daily lives, she said.

“I expect more Balinese students to take part in international scientific events in the future,” she added.

Bali Education office representative Made Sudana said they would find sponsors to send the two students to Russia.

KPK to pursue corruption cases at schools

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) says it will investigate corruption allegations at six schools in Jakarta after receiving reports from anti-graft watchdog Indonesian Corruption Watch.

KPK deputy chief M. Jasin said the KPK would pay serious attention to the case given that education was a crucial issue.

“Education is among our biggest concerns," Jasin was quoted as saying by tribunnews.com in Jakarta today.

The six Jakarta schools are state junior high schools SMP 95, SMP 84, SMP 30, SMP 28, SMP 190 and elementary school SDN 12 Rawamangun.

Indonesia Corruption Watch has alleged that the schools had embezzled money from the School Operational Aid (BOS) fund, reaching Rp 5.7 billion (US$630,000).

Moms face challenges in educating their kids

BOGOR: Mothers today are facing various kinds of pressures in educating their children, A Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB) researcher says.

“The strongest external pressures, which are faced by these mothers in forming their children’s characters, are the changes in life and religious values, lifestyle, as well as ideology,” IPB human ecology faculty researcher Dwi Hastuti told The Jakarta Post on Monday during a discussion held in conjunction with Women’s Day.

For example, pressures coming from within the family included economic conditions and violent acts, she said. This violence did not necessarily involve family members only, but also neighbors, schools, and the mass media, Dwi said.

There are three things that should be improved in the relationship between a mother and her children: Increasing attention, shaping affection and intensifying communication, he said.

She said the government’s policies on family affairs should be focused on issues regarding raising children. “The law should support the government and the family in helping a mother’s efforts to educate her children,” she added.

Government mulls repeat of disputed national exam

The government has not ruled out holding repeat tests for high school students who failed this year's national examination, Education Minister Bambang Sudibyo says.

However, Bambang said likelihood of organizing repeat exams was small because more high school students had passed this year than last.

""If we repeat the exams again this year, it will become normal and students will assume that there will always be a chance to repeat them, and they'll only count on that,"" he said.

Bambang said repeating the national exam could also encourage laziness among students.

He said a repeat would contradict the main purpose of national exams, to equip students to allow them to compete in the job market.

The Education Ministry and the National Board for Education Standards (BNSP) announced Monday the number of senior high, vocational and religious schools passing the national exam rose to 91.44 percent from 79.81 percent last year.

Last year's result, however, was achieved after the Education Ministry decided to hold repeat exams for senior high school students who failed.

Bambang said the average grade score for high school students had risen to the ministry's target of 7.

""That's why the BNSP has suggested there be no repeat for this year,"" he said.

The average scores for the three subjects tested in the national exam from May 16-18 also increased, from 6.54 to 6.88 for math, from 5.9 to 7.12 for English and from 6.39 to 7.17 for Indonesian.

After a subdued meeting Tuesday with a group representing students who failed the national exams, the House of Representatives' Commission X for education called on the National Education Ministry to hold a repeat of the graduation test.

The commission cited numerous cases of cheating involving teachers and students as among its many reasons for the proposed repeat.

It said treating the results of the national exam as benchmark for students' proficiency constituted an infringement of their basic rights.

House Speaker Agung Laksono said the government should heed the recommendations of the commission.

Agung also recommended setting up an independent team to examine why the national exams ""had failed"".

""My colleagues in Commission X demanded a repeat of the national exams for a good reason. They have seen the situation in the field,"" he said.

Medan students reject education minister

Dozens of high school and university students staged a joint protest to reject National Education Minister Muhammad Nuh’s visit to Medan on Saturday.

The protest however did not affect the minister’s scheduled visit to attend a meeting of postgraduate heads from across the country at Medan State University hall.

In their speech, the protesters accused the minister’s policy of persisting with the national examination as baseless.

The protest’s coordinator, Januar Pasaribu, said the ministry has been violating the Supreme Court’s decision, which urged it to first improve teacher quality, education facilities and infrastructure and students’ access to information before making the exam as a passing standard.

He said the ministry was also aware of various leaks during the national exam but never thoroughly investigated the cases.

“Every year we hear about students committing suicide out of shame for failing to pass the national exam. Such cases should be taken into account by the ministry to find other alternative to replace the national exam,” he said in the speech.

Responding to the protest, National Education Minister Muhammad Nuh said the government would continue holding the national examination since it is important not only as a passing standard but also as an effort to find out education quality standard in each regency and city across the country.

“The national exam is also used to map standards of teaching in each school,” he said.

The mapping, he said, is important for the government to be able to support struggling schools.

The ministry earlier announced this year’s graduation rate was 89.88 percent, down from last year’s 95.05 percent, with up to 154,000 students across the country have to sit remedial exams.

The protesters accused the minister’s policy of persisting with the national examination as baseless.

Education activists deem SBY as ignorant

A coalition of education activists from various NGOs criticizes President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as ignorant of public rejection concerning the controversial National Exam program.

Yudhoyono has thrown support towards the National Education Ministry to launch the exam, despite his earlier request for a review following a Supreme Court order for the government to first improve the quality of education across the country.

National Education Minister Muhammad Nuh argued that the exam was the only viable evaluation instrument for the country at this time.

Nuh also acknowledged there were many setbacks within the country's current educational system and the exam, but there were more positive aspects than negative ones.

Students and parents across the country have also despised the national exam because the assessment determines their eligibility to graduate from elementary and secondary schools, yet it is reported difficult to pass across the country in the midst of the disparity in education quality among regions.

For seven years, the country has also witnessed students suffer extreme stress as a result of the exams such as fainting or panic attacks.

Education analysts have continuously condemned the exam, because they deem it does not depict education's true purpose, which aims to empower people with knowledge, opposed to teaching them to remember answers.

"In my opinion, Yudhoyono does not listen to what the people want for the exam.

"It has been a seven-year discussion. We and probably the media are also bored of talking about the exam, but the President seems to have closed his ears," education expert Jimmy Paat said as quoted by kompas.com on Friday.

Jimmy said that Yudhoyono might have changed his mind following a meeting with Nuh.

"It is clear that the exam is about politics, not education.

"Therefore, we need to fight against it using political instruments.

"Students, teachers and parents must rally together," he said.

Meanwhile, Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) coordinator Ade Irawan said the exam did not only rob students of their right to learn the best way, it also carried a bad precedent of corruption.

ICW findings show that the state has allocated a significant amount of budget for the exam.

In 2004 the state allocated nearly Rp 260 billion (US$28.3 million).

The budget fell to around nearly Rp 250 billion the follwoing year, before rising to Rp 255 billion in 2006.

The budget then decreased to Rp 244 billion in 2007, but then increased more than the doubled amount in 2008 to Rp 573 billion.

Last year, the budget was around Rp 439 billion.

"Even though the government claims that it costs nothing for students to participate in the exam, the fact shows that parents and communities have been burdened with exam costs long before the examination takes place," Ade said.

"The National Education Ministry must transparently reveal its fund usage for conducting the exam.

"We also want the Supreme Audit Agency *BPK* to audit the implementation of the exam budget," he added.

Stakeholders expected to get involved in education for all

Several students are playing in the schoolyard while a boy in a worn-out T-shirt watches them from afar.

From the look in his eyes, it is clear that he really wants to join them. But going to school is only a dream because he has to help his parents scavenging for recyclable items from garbage cans.

“If only I did not have to scavenge I would be able to go to school,” he said softly.

That is a TV commercial calling for the public to pay taxes to help the government alleviate poverty, a plague that prevents many children in the country from enjoying an education. Like individuals, companies can also lend a hand. With their CSR programs, companies can give significant contribution that help the government achieve the target of primary education for all by 2015, as mentioned in the Millennium Development Goals.

Under the MDGs initiative, all stakeholders, including the private sector, are expected to be engaged in improving the access and expanding the learning opportunities to all school-aged children, especially those in poor areas and rural areas.

During President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s administration, 20 percent of the state budget is allocated for education. School Operational Aid is offered so that students can enjoy a free education as part of the efforts to implement the nine-year compulsory education program.

Unfortunately, about 2.2 million children of compulsory school age (between seven and 15 years old) do not go to school due to various reasons, including poverty, difficult access to school and parents’ low awareness about the need for education. The worst condition is found in remote areas.

“Besides the huge number of children who do not go to school, the dropout rate here is also high, reaching about 50 percent,” Sudiyanto, principle of SDN Kartamulia 1 state elementary school in Sukamara regency, Central Kalimantan, was quoted recently by Kompas as saying. Many children in the regency, as well as many under-developed regions in the country, drop out of school as they have to work to help their parents. It is also common for students to walk more than an hour to reach a schoolhouse, which might also be in poor condition.

Thousands of dilapidated school buildings are badly in need of renovation or reconstruction.

In remote areas, a teacher might have to teach more than one class. Another problem that also needs to be seriously addressed is the poor quality of teachers.

Indeed, many things need to be done to improve education in the country. While the government has an obligation to work on the matter, companies could share the burden.

Coordinating Public Welfare Minister Agung Laksono has called upon the private sector to play an active part in coping with the problems.

“It seems that the state budget for education is not enough to achieve the national target of education for all, therefore all parties are expected to lend a hand,” he said recently.

As a matter of fact, many companies have conducted various activities under their CSR programs to improve education in the country.

Astra Group is one that puts education, along with economic empowerment, on its top priority list of the CSR activities. This year alone it has allocated more than Rp 110 billion (about US$12.2 million) for its CSR programs in education, increasing from Rp 97 billion last year.

Astra, a recipient of an award from the National Education Minister, has conducted programs to improve the education of children near its headquarters in North Jakarta, as well as those in disaster-hit areas like Aceh, Yogyakarta, West Java and West Sumatra.

Besides providing scholarships for needy students, the company has also renovated school buildings and offered programs to improve teachers’ competency.

Conoco Philips, an oil and gas contractor, provides scholarships for needy children, gives English courses for teachers and also builds school buildings in the areas where it operates, including in Anambas regency in Riau Islands.

CIMB Niaga also took part in the reconstruction of several elementary school buildings in areas that were hit by earthquakes last year, including Padang, West Sumatra, and Tasikmalaya, West Java.

CSR is good not only for those who receive the support but also for the companies. It boosts the companies’ image as the public will appreciate their commitment in social activities instead of merely focusing on generating profits.

Some companies lend their support for education directly to schools while others show their commitment by working in cooperation with certain foundations, such as the Putera Sampoerna Foundation.

This year, according to the foundation, 17 corporations, both local and multi-national, began partnerships with the foundation in support of education.

Established in 2001, the foundation has trained 14,000 teachers, adopted 24 schools and granted more than 32,000 scholarships, from elementary to graduate levels, to increase access to quality education to financially disadvantaged students.

Preschool Adjustment

For three year olds who have been interacting mainly with family members and maybe a nanny who has been taking care of them, the biggest transition in their lives is when they start preschool.

For both parents and teachers, the first month of school for children can be the most trying time as children go through all sorts of transitions such as separation from their parents or nannies, other "small people" who do not meet their needs or pay attention to them, and a new authority who is neither their mom nor nanny.

Though it is quite difficult to put ourselves into a three year old's perspective as grownups, one must imagine the emotional and psychological trauma these young ones are going through in order to help them to adapt and transition smoothly into what will later become their home away from home.

When children enter their classroom, they are stepping into a room full of unknowns. The unfamiliar setting will intimidate them and most of all, their security blanket is no longer there, whether that is mom or nanny.

Children of this age must retain security and stability in order to develop properly. When their security blanket has been taken away, they can't help but cry out with all their might to get that security back.

What they do not understand is that their security blanket will come back in a few hours. Many of them feel abandoned and are consumed with fear that they will not see their parents ever again. We can assume this during the pick-up time when the children see their parents again because their faces are lit up and a sense of security comes back to their presence.

During those first few weeks, if there is one goal that the teachers try hard to achieve, it is to assure the children that they can obtain a new security blanket in this new environment.

How can we help these children to cope with such transition? With any upcoming transition, preparation is the most important step. Children must be prepared for what's to come rather than just being thrown into a new environment for which no one has prepared them. As they are developing in this important stage of life, it is so important to make sure their first learning environment is safe, fun and challenging. This will chart the course for the rest of their learning path.

Here are some tips that can prepare the children for the transition. Parents must start preparing the child verbally, that they are going to go to school. At this time, they have no idea what this "school" is. Children at this age understand and learn concepts through experience.

It will be helpful to visit the school that they will enter and familiarize the child with the new environment. Make an appointment with the child's teacher-to-be and invite the child to do some fun activities with the teacher while the parent is still present.

Make the preparation time exciting and fun for the child. For example, take the child along to go shopping for school supplies. While doing these pre-organized activities, constantly communicate to the child about going to school.

Another important preparation is to make opportunities for the child to interact with other children their age. Many of the children, especially if they are the first child of the family, have a difficult time adapting to other children. They do not understand the concept of sharing or socializing with others of their age.

To help them with these adjustments, some practical tips are taking them to the playground, arranging play-day or enrolling them in a children's program at church or other organizations, but nothing too involved. There is a big difference between children who had interactions only with grownups as compared to those who interacted with children of their age before they start school. Their communication, collaboration and conflict-resolution skills are emerging at this stage and it helps to prepare them with a few children around before they are exposed to a big group in class.

During the actual transition time in the beginning of the school year, teachers and parents must plan for the separation time for the child from the parents. Some parents prefer to just drop the child off and disappear right away to avoid any lingering goodbyes. Other parents prefer to stick around and "spy" on the child outside of the window to see how the child is adapting. Both ways have pros and cons.

As a teacher, one of the better ways of separation experienced is to help the child to transition from the parent to the teacher in a clear way. The parent should communicate to the child that he or she will come back after the child plays with new friends and the teacher.

The teacher should be present while the parent is communicating this to the child and take the child's hand. If the child cries, the teacher should comfort the child physically and gently.

When this routine is repeated each day, the children tend to adapt quicker. For children who experience an extreme difficulty of separation, the teachers can invite the parent into the classroom or stand right outside for the first few days and transition out slowly.

When the child knows that the parent is nearby, they will become familiar with the environment securely and once they feel safe in the environment, they will be able to let go of the security from parents while in school.

Lastly, not only the preparation but follow-up is another important step in helping the children adjust to preschool smoothly. When the child is reunited with the parents whether at pick-up time or at home, the parents should compliment the child for being in school and reinforce it as a positive action. Children love being praised and they need to hear it repeatedly.

Teachers should also follow up by creating a learning environment where the children will be excited and engaged to come back each day. Teachers should also verbally communicate to the children at the start of the day that they are welcome and at the dismissal time to reinforce their positive return the next day.

When the children are able to connect to school as a home away from home, a truly enjoyable learning environment has been created and they will develop well in all areas.

Multicultural education in Indonesia: Opportunities and challenges

As a nation-state with a pluralistic society, Indonesia is prone to social unrest and intra-group tension in terms of race, ethnicity and religion. Recent media headlines reported that discrimination and intolerance toward other religions were on the rise, the latest case being the closure of a Jewish synagogue in Surabaya, East Java. This was done in a show of solidarity with Palestinians being attacked in the Gaza Strip.

This, however, is just one indication of the fragility of our democracy, which upholds freedom of choosing different faiths. Another case of religious intolerance was the barring of Ahmadiyah followers from disseminating their religious dogma, which is considered heretical and blasphemous by hard-line Muslims.

Still another case was the Islamic Defenders Front's (FPI) ambush of a peaceful rally for religious tolerance at the National Monument, Central Jakarta.

Instances of opposition against religious pluralism prevailed long ago and are likely to continue to prevail in the future.

As part of its concerns about the real threat against pluralism, education practitioners once proposed that multicultural education be part of the school curriculum and be made a compulsory school subject.

The discourse on multicultural education was voiced in an effort to counteract growing radicalism in the country and to instill a sense of inclusiveness in the young generation.

When effectively implemented in a multiethnic society like ours, multicultural education provides the opportunity for young and adult learners to learn fundamental principles that help them critically evaluate and respond to what they see and experience as they live in a culturally heterogeneous society.

These principles include learning for the acquisition of social skills important for interacting with students from other racial, ethnic, religious and cultural groups; learning to understand universal values shared by all cultural groups such as compassion, justice, equality, tolerance, peace, freedom and care; learning about possible stereotypes and other related bias that could produce deleterious effects on racial, ethnic and religious relations.

In practice, teachers can, for example, assign students with meaningful tasks such as a case study, problem-solving approach and discovery learning, which will help students demonstrate universal values shared by other religious and ethnic groups, and critically analyze, weigh and evaluate prejudices.

As schools here are now experimenting with multicultural education, it is perhaps too premature to arrive at a definitive conclusion that they are doomed to failure in implementing multicultural education.

However, the increasing rate of violence against minority religious groups and the rise of radicalism among both youth and adults is a test case that poses a challenge to schools in effectively implementing multicultural education.

What is more, regional autonomy granted by the central government has made it possible for all regions to impose local ordinances that tend to favor the dogmas of the dominant religion. This is just antithetical to multilingual education, which respects and values freedom and differences in all walks of life.

In fact, the country has been embroiled in a seemingly never-ending spat regarding the imposition of sharia bylaws, with opponents arguing that it can destroy the spirit of pluralism in the country.

Another potential challenge is that teachers might not be ready, if not unsure, how to teach multiculturalism. Multiculturalism is a highly intricate and elusive concept, demanding teachers to learn about the multiple perspectives from multidisciplinary studies such as education, sociology, psychology, politics and history.

Mary Stone Hanley, a proponent of multicultural education, warns that knowledge construction drawn from this multidiscipline is imperative because before teachers can effectively teach multiculturally they must reconstruct their world views.

Diminishing cultural pride is also important for teachers to be able to teach effectively. In a primordially-rooted culture, doing so is difficult, if not impossible.

It is also important to note that as multiculturalism embraces an assimilationist ideology, it contradicts both teachers' and students' community cultures where homogeneity and commonality are highly valued, and where ethnocentricity is deeply rooted.

Not all teachers and students are willing to take the risk of losing their ethnic identity and being socially and politically alienated within their cultural community simply because they are invited to adhere to assimilationist ideology.

As a final remark, multicultural education has the potential to equip students with skills needed to interact with others from different faiths, ethnicities, races, cultures. But without a deeper and sound understanding of it, and political commitment to support its implementation, we are just trivializing its goal -- the transformation of society via education.

Technology and Education

A Major responsibility of schools entering this new era of globalization is to prepare students for the new challenges that are rapidly changing our society.

One of the greatest challenges currently facing our youth is finding meaningful employment. The ability to speak a foreign language and computer literacy are currently two of the most common criteria required from people wishing to enter the workforce in Indonesia (and globally).

As only about 20-30% of Senior Secondary School SMA graduates nationally continue on to formal tertiary education, and with computers now infiltrating every aspect of human life it places a high burden of responsibility upon our education system to improve the development of our students' language and computer literacies. The study of technology is very important and schools are responsible for teaching technology (ICT) at all levels because many students are still failing to continue their education beyond primary and junior secondary levels. .

We fully support the development of technology in education, however, we also feel that we must ascertain whether technology and its application is appropriate to the needs, and also question whether in fact it meets the needs at all.

For instance, Improve The Role and Quality Of Our School Libraries.

Is Technology The Solution For Our Libraries?

We need quality management, policy and planning in our schools before we can maximize the utilization of technology. For example: Laptops In Schools.

Technology (for instance laptops) have the potential to assist learners in schools, however like every aspect of quality in education, management and policy are the key issues that need to be addressed first.

The implementation of technology in education in Indonesia must be in accordance with a master plan for the overall development of education generally. Technology must be rationally integrated into the development plan considering all of the many other high priority development issues (a Holistic Master Development Plan) , a plan that addresses all education issues and priorities in balance (Not another project-based disaster!).

Often public announcements about the role of technology in education appear in our newspapers that don't appear to have considered global education research or experience at all. Frequently specific remote cases or sources of information are projected as general education solutions.

However, important issues here in Indonesia like: "Schools can't protect themselves against pornography" haven't been given sufficient consideration and only emerge as issues after they have been encountered in the field. The solution lies in diligent high quality human resources in our schools which is also the key to addressing most of the other education issues as well.

Of course we must search for creative solutions, however we must also learn from the general pool of world experiences so that we don't replicate the failures experienced in other countries.

We really need some quality research

Is the fact that increasing numbers of students are spending time in Internet cafes rather than spending the time at home reviewing their school work or doing their homework one of the reasons for decreasing performance in their National Exams (UN)? We need to know!

With all Technologies, for instance; the Electronic Whiteboard, OHP, Video, Television, e-Learning, Internet, etc., the quality and therefore the usefulness relies 100% upon the quality of the content and the teaching process deployed. Technology itself is just a medium. Whether it succeeds or fails depends 100% upon the content and process, not the technology.

It appears that the importation of cheap laptops at prices like those quoted in the marketing still cannot be achieved, for instance:

$150 Linux Mini-PC dari Cina A Chinese company is touting an inexpensive Linux-based computer as a way to close the "digital divide." YellowSheepRiver's $150 "Municator" appears to be available now, with a three-month leadtime, suggesting it could reach market well ahead of MIT's $100 "One Laptop Per Child" (OLPC) device. More Information

E-Pendidikan Supports The "One Laptop Per Child" Program

"Mission Statement: To create educational opportunities for the world's poorest children by providing each child with a rugged, low-cost, low-power, connected laptop with content and software designed for collaborative, joyful, self-empowered learning".(at a price of $100 currently still $188).

One Laptop Per Child : "To provide children around the world with new opportunities to explore, experiment and express themselves." Informasi lanjut.

One of our (Education Network) objectives is to locate laptops and other technologies at the cheapest prices possible for our education community.

How can we (citizens, government and industry) work together to improve technology facilities for our young learners? How can we achieve "One Laptop Per Child?"

Teaching and Learning Activities (TLA)

Teaching & Learning Activities (TLA)

We believe that improving the quality of Teaching and Learning Activities (TLA) is the most important issue related to achieving quality education in Indonesia. However, before we discuss specific TLA issues we need to discuss some general issues and define some specific issues that determine the quality of education.

Is the objective of Teaching and Learning Activities to deliver/transfer some specific information or knowledge, or to teach a specific skill or competency to the learner? Or are there broader objectives to be achieved?

We can still remember when Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) emerged formally in Indonesia. Many teachers in the field were quite confused. This was due to a number of issues including the fact that many competencies itemized in the curriculum were not clear competencies, and they would be very difficult to assess. Another reason for the confusion was that teachers didn't believe that they would have enough time to teach and assess each of the competencies, as there were so many of them.

However, this is not a problem because we don't need to teach each of the competencies individually. In one lesson we can teach and assess many competencies simultaneously.

In fact in every class we are obliged to teach as many competencies as we can whether we use CBC or not.

What is Quality Education?

There are many definitions for quality education but we feel that this definition from UNICEF (below) is complete enough:

• Learners who are healthy, well-nourished and ready to participate and learn, and supported in learning by their families and communities;
• Environments that are healthy, safe, protective and gender-sensitive, and provide adequate resources and facilities;
• Content that is reflected in relevant curricula and materials for the acquisition of basic skills, especially in the areas of literacy, numeracy and skills for life, and knowledge in such areas as gender, health, nutrition, HIV/AIDS prevention and peace;
• Processes through which trained teachers use child-centred teaching approaches in well-managed classrooms and schools and skilful assessment to facilitate learning and reduce disparities;
• Outcomes that encompass knowledge, skills and attitudes, and are linked to national goals for education and positive participation in society.

How can we implement quality education in Indonesia?

"Learners who are healthy" Firstly we need to be aware that health and well-being are education issues. The relevance of child health statistics to education perhaps isn't clear. This is why our Education Network has a specific news section "Education & Poverty" because poverty and health are two factors that significantly effect education (for all) here.

"Environments that are healthy" Tens of thousands of schools in Indonesia are either damaged, collapsed, or collapsing. If we are serious about achieving quality education "for all" this must be the main priority for achieving basic education equity in Indonesia. Even though learning resources and facilities are very important issues, all students (and teachers) have the right to be able to access a school without fear for personal safety.

"Content that is reflected in relevant curricula and materials for the acquisition of basic skills, especially in the areas of literacy, numeracy and skills for life". Curriculum needs to go through constant review and update according to the changing environment and needs of our students so that they can face the future confidently and creatively.

There are usually three versions/variations of curriculum that we need to address; the National Curriculum, Regional Curriculum (perhaps includes some local language content), and the School Curriculum (reflects the desires and needs of the school community including the general local community and industry). Local school curriculum is very important and can take the form of extra-curricular activities for addressing specific issues like religion, social skills, independency skills, skills associated with local industry needs (vocational), etc. Local school curriculum can be very helpful for improving the quality of human resource outcomes at the local level.

"Processes through which trained teachers use child-centred teaching approaches"
What do we mean by "child centered"? Child centered learning is a system of learning in which the focus for the learning is upon the learner, not the teacher. The teacher assumes a role as more of a facilitator or manager of the learning process. For instance in kindergartens the teachers often teach the children through their participation in games. In the game there will be learning activities which facilitate various types of learning for instance; social skills and resolution of problems, counting and numeracy, drawing, motor skills, telling stories in their own words, general creativity skills, etc.

At the Primary and Junior Secondary levels (Basic Education) there are already many fine examples which prove the benefits and gains from "Child Centered Learning". In Indonesia it is called Learning that is Active, Creative, Effective and Enjoyable (PAKEM) or Contextual Learning and you can find many examples at Basic Education (MBE).

At the Senior High School lever (SMU/A/K) we can still see many learning activities in the schools that are not yet Student Centered. Maybe because there are still many teachers that aren't familiar with the process, or as we sometimes hear, the teachers are still doubtful that they can finish the curriculum on time using PAKEM methodology. However, by utilizing the PAKEM L/T process the students can learn very quickly and enjoy the learning experience while gaining other forms of learning i.e. life skills, self-mangement, independence, research, etc, while they are learning the main or primary topic^#.

^#Remember we said above: "In fact in every class we are obliged to teach as many competencies as we can whether we use CBC or not"

Contextual learning is one of the issues that often signifies the differences in the quality of learning between national and international schools. However, several national schools have been using contextual learning for some time for instance Madania in Parung, Bogor, West Java.

It's in Higher Education where we can witness teaching and learning practices in most classes that are very passive. The learning process is usually very 'lecturer centered' with the students tending to "sit sweetly", and they are rarely involved actively in the learning process.

Does it have to be like this? Certainly not!

Lecturers, like teachers in schools, are responsible for making the learning experiences of our students as active, time-effective and as meaningful as possible. We need to be creative and utilize strategies, even though our classes may be quite large, whereby our students are as active as possible during the learning process.

A few years ago when I was working in a very well known Australian university I needed to improve my knowledge of anatomy for a professional massage course that I was undertaking. I asked some physiology students for recommendations about basic anatomy classes that would be useful. Their recommendation shocked me because they said that I would be better off just buying the anotomy textbook and reading it because that is all the lecturers do, they work their way through the textbook. As a teacher I found this revelation to be apalling.

For those lecturers that may be reading this, have you ever attended a series of semiars based mainly upon oration or speeches for a whole day? Were you longing to go home or go to sleep? Now most presenters use laptops and data projectors. Is it really any different? After two or three presentations aren't you still longing to go home or go to sleep? It's just the same, isn't it?

Sometimes the poor utilization of technology makes the situation even worse because if you are sitting at the rear of the room you may not be able read what is on the screen, and you feel that you are not even included because you can not access to the information.

The one issue that will most significantly raise the quality of education in Indonesia (and elsewhere in universities) is the activation of our learners in the learning and teaching process (LTA) at all levels of education, not issues like technology.

Education technology is only an "array of tools that might prove useful" for where they can improve the learning and teaching process, but the technology must be appropriate and doesn't need to be highly sophisticated. If we frequently use the same technologies, even the most hi-tech, our students can quickly become bored. Often the simplest form of technology can provide the greatest assistance to our teaching and learning activities (TLA).

Scool Based Management

This website is part of the Indonesian Education (Pendidikan) Network and we are primarily concerned with the development of education in Indonesia. However, we have received letters of thanks to our websites from education consultants working in other developing countries so we would like to try to bring together as much practical information as possible from actual practitioners in the field - for the benefit of developing countries generally. When it comes to education, which country isn't a developing country? Visit:

Prior to decentralization, some schools in Indonesia had already independently commenced programs using School Based Management (SBM) processes and this had enabled them to begin to address many of their own issues of school development themselves. These schools, some of which are listed (on the left), were viewed as pioneers and their developments were quite amazing. Also their school principals were quite courageous considering the education environment and education management systems in place at that time.

Now, in several provinces in Indonesia we are beginning to see the true power of SBM because of the support being provided by the regional governments and the District Education Offices. The transformations that are taking place, to say the least, are truly spectacular. SBM is not new to Indonesia however, current implementations are proving very effective in bringing about both the cultural and systemic changes necessary for it to be affective.

What is making these current implementations effective?
Bottom line - Good Implementation Management. Like all initiatives good management is the key to affective implementation. If the systemic changes are implemented without the necessary organizational cultural change taking place, the implementation frequently fails and reverts back to its original state, as we have seen in the past when school principals, who were providing the driving force have been relocated.

Good implementation requires a clear understanding of the roles of all stakeholders. Consistent with SBM ethos their roles cannot be defined initially in black and white, they need to, through a process of open discussions and exchanges of ideas, define their own roles with the overall objective being to provide the maximum support possible for the teachers in the field, and thus the teaching and learning process. In the current programs, nobody comes from a position of superiority, each stakeholder regardless of whether they are member of the house of representatives, a new teacher, or a parent who is a farmer, all bring their inputs and needs to the table to work out how they can best serve the other stakeholders while fulfilling their own particular needs. Additionally, what is making the thrust of SBM so effective in Indonesia is the simultaneous implementation of Contextual Learning.

If the above processes have been followed, and are working effectively we should begin to see improved teaching and learning conditions, however, unless we begin to address the way in which our students are learning, and what they are learning the benefits may not be apparent in terms of student outcomes. Firstly, what do we mean by "what they are learning". This doesn't refer to the school curriculum, clearly this won't change. What it refers to is, they need to begin learning 'how to learn', how to learn by discovery, to be creative, analytical, and critical, so that they can become effective life-long learners.
Interesting reading: What Is Education For?

Secondly, "the way in which our students are learning", what is this Contextual Learning?

"A conception that helps teachers relate subject matter content to real world situations and motivates students to make connections between knowledge and its applications to their lives as family members, citizens, and workers." (BEST, 2001).

In Indonesia we call it PAKEM, which is an acronym for Learning which is Active, Creative, Effective, and Enjoyable. And I personally believe that this sums up Contextual Learning fairly well. The focus is upon student activity through group, individual, and classroom learning activities, participation in projects, research, investigation, discovery, and an endless list of strategies which is only limited by the imagination of the teacher.

Phillip Rekdale (Jakarta, November 2005)

Education

EducationIndonesia.Net^work was created to bring together education information, resources, articles, and feedback from the general education community. We provide education development information and resources in the areas of education technology, scholarships, School-Based Management, education policy, etc. We also provide student and teacher forums and many other avenues for visitor participation including the posting of articles from the field. The main purpose of the site is to assist education practicioners and learners in the field. [Information For New Visitors] 

Of course "Indonesia Can!" But when? When will we overcome the 'corruption culture', which is not the culture of our people, and begin to work together to assist our citizens and our country, instead of looking for opportunities to exploit our citizens and rape our country? When will we overcome the corruption that enslaves us and is killing the development of our country and especially the futures of our coming generations, our children? If we start now hopefully next year we can truely celebrate "Hari Kebangkitan Nasional" with new hope and enthusiasm. Advance Indonesia - Advance!

Because our target audience is Indonesian education practitioners and the Ministry of Education our work has been conducted in the Indonesian language (Bahasa Indonesia). As from the beginning of October we are going to commence translation of information and articles that we believe will be of interest into English language.

With this new site EducationIndonesia.Net we have commenced laying the foundations (September 29, 2008). Please be patient if you find English pages are still in progress, it's a mammoth job.
Regards, Webmaster

Around Current News Issues


Budget Increases, The MOE Working Together With Supervising Organizations (Secretary General MOE Dodi Nandika)

JAKARTA--MI: (In brief) Because the budget for education has been raised to 20 percent or Rp224 Trillion in the new APBN for 2009, it needs extra supervision of the management and education implementation.

In order to achieve this, the MOE (Depdiknas) plan to hire supervising staff from the Finance Supervision and Development Board (BPKP), higher education (PT), and the Commission for Eradicating Corruption (KPK), Friday (12/9).

This is the news we have been waiting for!

Hopefully the supervising staff that they are going to hire will be honest, professional, diligent, and ready to work hard!

The supervisors will need to examine all receipts, the actual duration of field activities, and frequently go into the field to check the products and their quality for all expenditure. This is not something that can be done in the office! They will need to check with recipiants in the field as well as with suppliers.

Remember!!! "Corruption occurs at all levels from the MOE (Depdiknas), education offices, and schools"

"We Must Improve Teaching & Learning Activities"
(Phillip Rekdale)

"We believe that improving the quality of Teaching and Learning Activities (TLA) is the most important issue related to achieving quality education in Indonesia. However, before we discuss specific TLA issues we need to discuss some general issues and define some specific issues that determine the quality of education."

"At the Senior High School lever (SMU/A/K) we can still see many learning activities in the schools that are not yet Student Centered. Maybe because there are still many teachers that aren't familiar with the process, or as we sometimes hear, the teachers are still doubtful that they can finish the curriculum on time using PAKEM methodology. However, by utilizing the PAKEM L/T process the students can learn very quickly and enjoy the learning experience while gaining other forms of learning i.e. life skills, self-mangement, independence, research, etc, while they are learning the main or primary topic."

"It's in Higher Education where we can witness teaching and learning practices in most classes that are very passive. The learning process is usually very 'lecturer centered' with the students tending to "sit sweetly", and they are rarely involved actively in the learning process."

Complete article: Here

President: Don't Let There Be Any Schools In Poor Codition
(President RI)

JAKARTA--MI: (In Brief) President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono asked the MOE and district heads not to allow any school buildings to be in poor condition in context with the new 20 percent APBN 2009 education budget."

To the Govenors, District Heads (Bupati) and Mayors (Walikota) I ask that you no longer have any schools that are in a pitiful state of repair. The president, when opening the Astronomy and Astrophysics Olimpiade at the National Palace, said that he will check the situation in the districts Wednesday (20/8).

You won't need to go very far Mr President.........

70 Percent Of School Buildings in DKI (Jakarta) Are In Bad Repair

JAKARTA--MI: About 70% of Primary and Junior Secondary buildings (SD-SMP) in DKI Jakarta are damaged. In order to repair them, the Provincial Government (Pemprov) DKI must ask for assistance from the central government.