Selasa, 03 November 2015
Keeping Hopes High for Better Education in Indonesia
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| owner http://dinamikagurusd.co.id di depan SDN Mojo 03 Kecamatan Cluwak Kabupaten Pati Jawa Tengah Indonesia |
By Anies Baswedan
The right to education has been enshrined in the preamble of Indonesia’s constitution, obliging the government to provide good quality education for its citizens. The provision comes second, following only the mandate to create prosperity for all and joining the global effort to create world peace. Such is the importance of education in the country.
But rarely, if at all, is there debate about substantive issues regarding education, such as eradicating corruption, improving the quality of teachers and their pay, and on implementing a better accreditation system. The debates that do take place mostly concern basic issues which should have been settled two or three decades ago, such as whether students need a centralized final exam or whether they need to be taught science and math in elementary school. It appears that policy makers in the education sector have always got their priorities wrong.
But then again, priorities are not something that the country’s bureaucracy is good at setting. It was only recently that the government decided to increase the budget for education, with a 7.5% increase pledged by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono for next year. Even after an increase is made, education has to compete with other sectors in getting more budget. The Defense and Public Works ministries get a bigger share, with Education coming third.
Living up to its reputation as the largest Muslim country in the world, Indonesia spends a large amount on religious education on nearly 4,000 state Islamic education institutions across the archipelago. The government allocation for religious education in 2012 was 31.5 trillion rupiah ($2.74 billion) for the Islamic Education division at the Religious Affairs Ministry—of the total 41.7 trillion rupiah ($3.62 billion dollars) budget for the ministry—while it allocated 66 trillion rupiah ($5.74 billion) in budget for the Education and Culture Ministry.
Mr. Yudhoyono may have promised to increase spending for education, but with corruption remaining endemic in the country, the promise of quality education for all rings hollow to many of the poor who rely on government for their schooling.
Education remains the most corrupt sector in the country. Indonesia Corruption Watch found that in 2011, the education sector contributed the most cases of graft. Of 436 cases handled by law enforcers, 12.4 percent, or 54 cases, were associated with corruption in the education sector.
From the survey, the anti-graft watchdog found that corruption worsened as the government spent more for education. The more spent, the more stolen.
The saddest thing about corruption is that often the money stolen is allocated for the poor, such as budget earmarks for the school operational assistance fund and the social aid fund meant for construction of school buildings in the country’s poor and far-flung regions.
The rich can vote with their feet. Children from affluent families can go to private or international-standard schools and get a quality education on par with what their peers could enjoy in Singapore or Shanghai. Children from poor families have nowhere else to go. Most of the time, children from poor families have to travel for miles only to find out that the roof of their school building has collapsed, that their math teachers fail to come to class due to having to work a second job, or that the question sheets for their final exam are stuck somewhere in an airport hangar due to possible graft and incompetence at the local education office.
It is very unfortunate that the problems plaguing the education system are emerging right when Indonesia is expected to reap the benefits of the demographic dividend. With nearly 60 percent of its population now under the age of 40, Indonesia has one of the youngest demographic profiles in the world. With the youth bulge, Indonesia has the potential to rise above its current developing-nation status and become a challenging nation. But with the army of uneducated and poorly educated youth making up the largest part of the bulge, Indonesia has instead a bomb waiting to explode when economic growth fails to generate enough jobs.
Not all hope is lost. When the government falls short in performing its duty, the community picks up the slack. Indonesia, after all, is a country known for its gotongroyong ethics, the equivalent of American civic culture. Many in the community start their own initiatives, getting their hands dirty by training young educators to be sent to some of the country’s remotest areas. Others start an alternative form of schooling that does away with the government-sponsored curriculum by bringing students closer to nature. Believing that the current curriculum does not teach enough science and math, some educators set up schools that train the country’s future best scientists.
Many others have tapped into the immense power of the Internet and social media. Earlier this year, a website was set up to hear complaints about which school buildings need repairs or where funds have allegedly been stolen. Some tech-savvy initiators, armed only with Twitter and Facebook, have mobilized volunteers to set up classes around the country to teach students about things that their underpaid teachers don’t.
In a place where people are used to broken promises, that looks like a beacon of hope.Anies Baswedan is president of Paramadina University and an education reformer. He regularly writes about public policy, Islam and politics. Mr. Baswedan created a program called Teaching Indonesia that recruits and trains young Indonesians to work as teachers in remote, impoverished provinces across the country’s more than 17,000 islands.
Menaruh Harapan Tinggi Tentang Pendidikan Yang Lebih Baik Untuk Indonesia
Oleh Anies Baswedan
But rarely, if at all, is there debate about substantive issues regarding education, such as eradicating corruption, improving the quality of teachers and their pay, and on implementing a better accreditation system. The debates that do take place mostly concern basic issues which should have been settled two or three decades ago, such as whether students need a centralized final exam or whether they need to be taught science and math in elementary school. It appears that policy makers in the education sector have always got their priorities wrong.
But then again, priorities are not something that the country’s bureaucracy is good at setting. It was only recently that the government decided to increase the budget for education, with a 7.5% increase pledged by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono for next year. Even after an increase is made, education has to compete with other sectors in getting more budget. The Defense and Public Works ministries get a bigger share, with Education coming third.
Living up to its reputation as the largest Muslim country in the world, Indonesia spends a large amount on religious education on nearly 4,000 state Islamic education institutions across the archipelago. The government allocation for religious education in 2012 was 31.5 trillion rupiah ($2.74 billion) for the Islamic Education division at the Religious Affairs Ministry—of the total 41.7 trillion rupiah ($3.62 billion dollars) budget for the ministry—while it allocated 66 trillion rupiah ($5.74 billion) in budget for the Education and Culture Ministry.
Mr. Yudhoyono may have promised to increase spending for education, but with corruption remaining endemic in the country, the promise of quality education for all rings hollow to many of the poor who rely on government for their schooling.
Education remains the most corrupt sector in the country. Indonesia Corruption Watch found that in 2011, the education sector contributed the most cases of graft. Of 436 cases handled by law enforcers, 12.4 percent, or 54 cases, were associated with corruption in the education sector.
From the survey, the anti-graft watchdog found that corruption worsened as the government spent more for education. The more spent, the more stolen.
The saddest thing about corruption is that often the money stolen is allocated for the poor, such as budget earmarks for the school operational assistance fund and the social aid fund meant for construction of school buildings in the country’s poor and far-flung regions.
The rich can vote with their feet. Children from affluent families can go to private or international-standard schools and get a quality education on par with what their peers could enjoy in Singapore or Shanghai. Children from poor families have nowhere else to go. Most of the time, children from poor families have to travel for miles only to find out that the roof of their school building has collapsed, that their math teachers fail to come to class due to having to work a second job, or that the question sheets for their final exam are stuck somewhere in an airport hangar due to possible graft and incompetence at the local education office.
It is very unfortunate that the problems plaguing the education system are emerging right when Indonesia is expected to reap the benefits of the demographic dividend. With nearly 60 percent of its population now under the age of 40, Indonesia has one of the youngest demographic profiles in the world. With the youth bulge, Indonesia has the potential to rise above its current developing-nation status and become a challenging nation. But with the army of uneducated and poorly educated youth making up the largest part of the bulge, Indonesia has instead a bomb waiting to explode when economic growth fails to generate enough jobs.
Not all hope is lost. When the government falls short in performing its duty, the community picks up the slack. Indonesia, after all, is a country known for its gotongroyong ethics, the equivalent of American civic culture. Many in the community start their own initiatives, getting their hands dirty by training young educators to be sent to some of the country’s remotest areas. Others start an alternative form of schooling that does away with the government-sponsored curriculum by bringing students closer to nature. Believing that the current curriculum does not teach enough science and math, some educators set up schools that train the country’s future best scientists.
Many others have tapped into the immense power of the Internet and social media. Earlier this year, a website was set up to hear complaints about which school buildings need repairs or where funds have allegedly been stolen. Some tech-savvy initiators, armed only with Twitter and Facebook, have mobilized volunteers to set up classes around the country to teach students about things that their underpaid teachers don’t.
In a place where people are used to broken promises, that looks like a beacon of hope.Anies Baswedan is president of Paramadina University and an education reformer. He regularly writes about public policy, Islam and politics. Mr. Baswedan created a program called Teaching Indonesia that recruits and trains young Indonesians to work as teachers in remote, impoverished provinces across the country’s more than 17,000 islands.
Menaruh Harapan Tinggi Tentang Pendidikan Yang Lebih Baik Untuk Indonesia
Oleh Anies Baswedan
Hak atas pendidikan telah diabadikan dalam pembukaan konstitusi Indonesia, yang mewajibkan pemerintah untuk menyediakan pendidikan yang berkualitas bagi warganya. Ketentuan datang untuk kedua, berikutnya hanya mandat untuk menciptakan kemakmuran untuk semua dan bergabung dengan upaya global untuk menciptakan perdamaian dunia. Itulah pentingnya pendidikan di negeri ini.
Tapi jarang, jika sama sekali, ada perdebatan tentang isu-isu substantif mengenai pendidikan, seperti pemberantasan korupsi, peningkatan kualitas guru dan gaji mereka, dan pada pelaksanaan sistem akreditasi yang lebih baik. Perdebatan yang terjadi sebagian besar kekhawatiran masalah dasar yang harus telah diselesaikan dua atau tiga dekade lalu, seperti apakah siswa perlu ujian akhir terpusat atau apakah mereka perlu diajarkan ilmu pengetahuan dan matematika di sekolah dasar. Tampaknya pembuat kebijakan di sektor pendidikan selalu mendapat prioritas mereka yang salah.
Tapi sekali lagi, prioritas adalah bukan sesuatu yang birokrasi negara yang baik terletak pada pengaturannya. Itu hanya baru-baru bahwa pemerintah memutuskan untuk meningkatkan anggaran pendidikan, dengan kenaikan 7,5% yang dijanjikan oleh Presiden Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono untuk tahun depan. Bahkan setelah peningkatan dibuat, pendidikan harus bersaing dengan sektor lain dalam mendapatkan anggaran lebih. Pertahanan dan Pekerjaan Umum kementerian mendapatkan bagian yang lebih besar, dengan Pendidikan datang ketiga.Pola hidup untuk reputasi sebagai negara Muslim terbesar di dunia, Indonesia menghabiskan sejumlah besar pada sektor pendidikan agama di hampir 4.000 lembaga pendidikan Islam negara di seluruh nusantara. Alokasi pemerintah untuk pendidikan agama pada tahun 2012 adalah 31500000000000 rupiah ($ 2740000000) untuk divisi Pendidikan Islam di Kementerian-Agama total 41700000000000 rupiah ($ 3620000000 dolar) anggaran untuk kementerian-sementara itu dialokasikan 66 triliun rupiah ($ 5740000000) dalam anggaran untuk Kementerian Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan.Pak SBY mungkin telah berjanji untuk meningkatkan pengeluaran untuk pendidikan, tapi korupsi tetap endemik di negara ini, janji pendidikan berkualitas untuk semua seperti cincin berongga dengan banyak orang miskin yang bergantung pada pemerintah untuk sekolah mereka.Pendidikan merupakan sektor yang paling korup di negeri ini. Indonesia Corruption Watch menemukan bahwa pada tahun 2011, sektor pendidikan memberikan kontribusi paling banyak kasus korupsi. Dari 436 kasus yang ditangani oleh penegak hukum, 12,4 persen, atau 54 kasus, terkait dengan korupsi di sektor pendidikan .Dari survei tersebut, pengawas anti-korupsi menemukan bahwa korupsi memburuk karena pemerintah menghabiskan lebih banyak untuk pendidikan. Semakin menghabiskan, semakin dicuri.Hal yang paling menyedihkan tentang korupsi yang sering dicuri dialokasikan bagi masyarakat miskin, seperti anggaran sebagai ciri untuk dana bantuan operasional sekolah dan dana bantuan sosial dimaksudkan untuk pembangunan gedung sekolah di daerah miskin dan jauh diabaikan negara.
Orang kaya bisa memilih dengan kaki dan tangan mereka. Anak-anak dari keluarga kaya bisa pergi ke sekolah swasta atau berstandar internasional dan mendapatkan pendidikan yang berkualitas setara dengan apa yang rekan-rekan mereka untuk bisa menikmati sekolah di Singapura atau Shanghai. Anak-anak dari keluarga miskin tidak punya tempat lain untuk pergi. Sebagian waktu, anak-anak dari keluarga miskin harus melakukan perjalanan bermil hanya untuk mengetahui bahwa atap bangunan sekolah mereka telah runtuh, bahwa guru matematika mereka gagal untuk datang ke kelas karena harus bekerja pekerjaan kedua sebagai sambilan, atau bahwa lembaran pertanyaan untuk ujian akhir mereka terjebak di suatu tempat di sebuah hanggar bandara karena kemungkinan korupsi dan inkompetensi di dinas pendidikan setempat.
Hal ini sangat disayangkan bahwa masalah mengganggu sistem pendidikan yang tepat muncul ketika Indonesia diharapkan untuk menuai keuntungan dari bonus demografi. Dengan hampir 60 persen dari penduduknya sekarang di bawah usia 40, Indonesia memiliki salah satu profil demografis termuda di dunia. Dengan tonjolan pemuda, Indonesia memiliki potensi untuk naik di atas status bangsa berkembang dan menjadi bangsa yang menantang. Tapi dengan tentara tidak berpendidikan dan kurang berpendidikan pemuda yang membentuk bagian terbesar dari tonjolan, Indonesia memiliki sebaliknya bom penunggu untuk meledak ketika pertumbuhan ekonomi gagal untuk menghasilkan pekerjaan yang cukup.
Tidak semua harapan hilang. Ketika pemerintah jatuh bangun dalam melakukan tugasnya, masyarakat menjadi kendur. Indonesia, adalah negara yang terkenal dengan etika gotong-royong, yang setara dengan budaya sipil Amerika. Banyak di masyarakat mereka mulai berinisiatif sendiri, mendapatkan tangan mereka kotor dengan melatih pendidik muda untuk dikirim ke beberapa daerah terpencil di negara itu. Lainnya memulai membentuk alternatif sekolah yang tidak jauh dengan kurikulum yang disponsori pemerintah dengan membawa siswa lebih dekat dengan alam. Dimana percaya bahwa kurikulum saat ini tidak mengajarkan cukup ilmu pengetahuan dan matematika, beberapa pendidik mendirikan sekolah yang melatih para ilmuwan terbaik untuk masa depan negara ini.
Banyak orang lain telah menyadap kekuatan besar dari media internet dan sosial. Awal tahun ini, sebuah situs web didirikan untuk mendengarkan keluhan tentang gedung sekolah perlu perbaikan atau dimana dana diduga telah dicuri. Beberapa inisiator tech-savvy, hanya dipersenjatai dengan Twitter dan Facebook, telah memobilisasi relawan untuk mendirikan kelas di seluruh negeri untuk mengajar siswa tentang hal-hal yang guru tidak dibayar oleh mereka .Di tempat di mana orang-orang yang menggunakan sumbangan berpikir untuk tidak merusak janji, yang terlihat seperti sebuah mercusuar harapan.
Anies Baswedan adalah presiden Universitas Paramadina dan pembaharu pendidikan. Dia secara teratur menulis tentang kebijakan publik, Islam dan politik. Bapak Anies Baswedan menciptakan sebuah program yang disebut Pengajaran Indonesia yang merekrut dan kawula muda Indonesia untuk bekerja sebagai guru di daerah terpencil, provinsi miskin di seluruh negara lebih dari kurang lebih 17.000 pulau.
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