Author: I Putu Wirya Suta
In Indonesia, education is compulsory
and free of tuition for elementary (grade 1 to 6) and junior secondary school
(grade 7 to 9). In supporting this, the government has allocated 20% of the
national spending to education (Asian Development Bank, 2015, p 21). The school
operations grant program has become a mainstay of financial support to primary
and secondary schools. This effort has made a significant impact on education
in Indonesia. Nevertheless, it is still under expectation. The results of the Program
for International Student Assessment (PISA) of 2018, as stated by the Head of
Balitbang and Books at the Ministry of Education and Culture Totok Suprayitno,
shows that 70 percent of Indonesian children were below the minimum competency
level in reading, 71 percent in math, and 60 percent in science (Fahlevi, 2021,
para 3). It shows that a fundamental change to the education system in several
aspects is required, especially in curriculum and teachers' quality.
The curriculum is the core point of
education. It consists of planning, goals, implementation, and evaluation. How
the classroom activity is designed has to be under the students' needs and
interests, and how it is implemented and assessed. Compared to the previous
one, the latest curriculum provides freedom to schools in adapting and
innovating its operational design based on the local wisdom, the facility, and
socio-cultural and economic aspects (World Bank, 2020). Having the authority
drives to a better space in managing and implementing the classroom learning
activity which is supposed to be student-centered. Students are given an
opportunity in the study according to their interests, competence, prior
knowledge, and background. Hence, they get to be more focused on developing
their capital capacity through classroom activities.
On the other hand, teachers are supposed
to be competent in putting the curriculum into action on how to design the
lesson plan, how to conduct the classroom activity, and in the end, how it is
assessed to meet the learning goals. Setting up the teacher’s minimum academic
qualification and the teacher certification requirement is among the
government’s efforts to increase the quality of education. Law 14 of 2005 on
teachers and lecturers requires teachers to have a minimum of bachelor's degree
qualification and to have completed the certification process (Asian
Development Bank, 2015, p. 75). Lately, the Minister of Education and Culture
states that the government has launched the Teacher Motivator pilot program of
6 to 9-month training and on-the-job coaching to teachers, which aims to build
an intense education community that focuses on student learning (World Bank,
2020). After completing the program, the teachers are encouraged to be agents
of change both to facilitate the students and role as a model for their
colleagues.
It is undeniable that many factors
impact the improvement of education. However, curriculum adjustments and
enhancing the quality of teachers are the primary aspects that need the
government's attention to advance education in Indonesia. The curriculum as the
soul of the education implementation in schools determines how and where
teaching-learning is carried out. An applicative curriculum will not run significantly
without qualified teacher resources as implementers of the curriculum.
Therefore, teachers as the executor of the curriculum are required to expand in
competency and character to generate a larger impact on Indonesia's education.
References
Asian
Development Bank. (2015). Education in
Indonesia: Rising to the Challenge, OECD Publishing, Paris. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264230750-en
Fahlevi,
F. (2021, February 26). Kemendikbud: Tingkat
Literasi Siswa Indonesia di Peringkat PISA Masih Rendah. https://www.tribunnews.com/nasional/2021/03/22/kemendikbud-tingkat-literasi-siswa-indonesia-di-peringkat-pisa-masih-rendah
World
Bank. (2020, November 18). The Promise of
Education in Indonesia. https://www.worldbank.org/in/country/indonesia/publication/the-promise-of-education-in-indonesia
