New Education Minister

[William King]

Due to the cabinet reshuffle, Anies Buswaden has been replaced. A colleague described him today as the best Education Minister we've ever had. At least 3 other colleagues in different schools have expressed sadness and surprise that Buswaden is gone, did he do something wrong ?

Now we have Muhadjir Effendy; does anyone know anything about him ?

Will his changes be better or worse?

 

[fastpitch17]

He was a great Education Minister as far as Education Ministers went. Made some good changes trying to correct some of the bumbling Ministers acts that came before him. Everyone seems really surprised he is out.

His replacement is probably not too well known. Came out of being a dean in in Islamic University. Who knows, maybe the likes of MUI and NU were getting scared they were starting to lose the control of education and put pressure on the pres. Really don't know but I doubt it will be a good move for the future of Indonesian youth. Time will tell I guess.

 

[Bad_azz]

That he seems to have a penchant for military things is what I saw in the bio blurb, not a great attribute for education.

 

[Puspawarna]

Due to the cabinet reshuffle, Anies Buswaden has been replaced. A colleague described him today as the best Education Minister we've ever had. At least 3 other colleagues in different schools have expressed sadness and surprise that Buswaden is gone, did he do something wrong ?

Now we have Muhadjir Effendy; does anyone know anything about him ?

Will his changes be better or worse?

So what made Buswaden a good Minister, in the eyes of your colleagues? The only policy changes I can think of that I presume occurred under his tenure are (1) requiring Indonesian citizens educated at "international" schools to sit for the national examinations; (2) requiring non-Indonesian citizens to have coursework in Indonesian language and culture in order to graduate high school within Indonesia; and (3) banning use of the word "international" in school names.

None of those three steps represent any kind of sweeping reform designed to improve the education system for ordinary Indonesians - and there is more than a whiff of pointless nationalism to some of it. So are there other steps he oversaw that genuinely improved education in the country?

 

[Missnaughty]

Anis Baswedan. He is a bright man and one of the people who has a clear vision in our education system. He cleaned up the mess made by the people before him. We share almamater .
Your opinion above :
1. I am one who is supporting that Indonesian Citizen living in Indonesia should not go to "International School", actually they should be banned of entering International School. I am talking International School that we, expats, familiar with. The reason why, because International School do not teach fundamental Indonesian ideology which as Indonesian, we need to understand our own demographic and building up an Indonesian mindset. Short words.. It is about patriotism and loyalty to the country. For e.g : we must learn history from own side and interpretation. One small thing, We learned that we get our independent on 17 august 1945 with sacrifice of our ancestor and it wasn't easy.. but according Dutch history lesson.. It was given in 1947.. mmmh.. right. You see.. I am a patriotic activist.. nope.. it was not given.. we fought for it and you lost! Yes, every Indonesian citizen must learn culture, language, history and ideology according Indonesian Govt guidance. And in my opinion Mr. Baswedan is the right person for it.

2. National examination needed so we know that the students is par with others. Eventhou, it is not called National Examination, my child must take a placement test to be able to continue the education in US system as they were in UK system before. And She must joined "US National Examination" a.k.a SAT to be able to get into US University. I understand that is absurd and frustrating that every Indonesian Citizen must take National Examination to be able to graduate from high school, but.. as per my post above, they are Indonesian citizen living in Indonesia, they need to have the same education as any other Indonesian living in Indonesia. You can not just go to Chinese Intl school and received Chinese Ideology and in the end stand against our ideology and value.

3. Yes, must agree with you. It is ridiculous .. what "international" word got to do with education?!.

 

[Puspawarna]

Yay MissNaughty! Thanks for the interesting points, well worth debating:

1. I am one who is supporting that Indonesian Citizen living in Indonesia should not go to "International School", actually they should be banned of entering International School. I am talking International School that we, expats, familiar with. The reason why, because International School do not teach fundamental Indonesian ideology which as Indonesian, we need to understand our own demographic and building up an Indonesian mindset. Short words.. It is about patriotism and loyalty to the country. For e.g : we must learn history from own side and interpretation. One small thing, We learned that we get our independent on 17 august 1945 with sacrifice of our ancestor and it wasn't easy.. but according Dutch history lesson.. It was given in 1947.. mmmh.. right. You see.. I am a patriotic activist.. nope.. it was not given.. we fought for it and you lost! Yes, every Indonesian citizen must learn culture, language, history and ideology according Indonesian Govt guidance. And in my opinion Mr. Baswedan is the right person for it.

So should Indonesian diplomats - say, for example, the Indonesian Ambassador to the US or Britain - be banned from having children? Or perhaps required to leave their children with relatives in Indonesia?

What about the idea that parents should be able to decide what is best for their children? Let's imagine for a moment that I am Indonesian but married to an American citizen. We're raising our kids in Indonesia, but hope they will attend university in the US. If we can't educate them in English, using an IB or American curriculum, their chances of getting into a selective school in America are minimal indeed. Are you saying the Indonesian Government should be able to force us to educate our children in a manner that we feel is not in their best interests?

2. National examination needed so we know that the students is par with others. Eventhou, it is not called National Examination, my child must take a placement test to be able to continue the education in US system as they were in UK system before. And She must joined "US National Examination" a.k.a SAT to be able to get into US University. I understand that is absurd and frustrating that every Indonesian Citizen must take National Examination to be able to graduate from high school, but.. as per my post above, they are Indonesian citizen living in Indonesia, they need to have the same education as any other Indonesian living in Indonesia. You can not just go to Chinese Intl school and received Chinese Ideology and in the end stand against our ideology and value.

Certainly there is nothing wrong with a country wanting to have its citizens knowledgeable about certain aspects of national history and values. My understanding - please correct me if I'm wrong - is that the national exams focus on rote memorization rather than critical thinking. If that's the case, maybe what needs to be fixed is not the requirement to take the exam, but the content of the exam.

Incidentally, what are the consequences of flunking the national exam? My understanding is that if you want to attend certain professional schools in Indonesia - for example, law - you have to achieve a passing score. That seems reasonable enough.

 

[HappyMan]

Certainly there is nothing wrong with a country wanting to have its citizens knowledgeable about certain aspects of national history and values. My understanding - please correct me if I'm wrong - is that the national exams focus on rote memorization rather than critical thinking. If that's the case, maybe what needs to be fixed is not the requirement to take the exam, but the content of the exam.

Just been arguing with the wife about this. I was under the same impression as are you (that the testing is all about memorized facts). The wife insists that this is not the case. She said that there are many questions which require critical thinking, as the student is asked to choose "the best" rather than "the correct" answer. She also mentioned multi-stage multiple choice questions ("Of the ten statements below, which are true? A-1,3,5, B-7,3,9 C- 1,6,4,7 D- 1,2,3,4") and questions that require you to evaluate the answers in order to select the correct one (661+5= A. 343+331 B. 244+641 C. 232-162 D. Trump). She said that if it was just memorization, it would be too easy (and most people think it isn't). I don't know, never seen the damned thing. I still hold that there is a lot of memorization in those types of questions... but that argument is not worth dying over.

The real reason why we focus on objective testing, I think, is the cost. Objective testing only requires a small team to compose the test. A simple key allows the test to be graded by anyone. It takes a much more sophisticated system and many more, better trained, operators to do subjective testing well. That's why we use objective based testing for most subjects in America. That's why they use it here.

My lovely wife also says that the former minister of education has been key to reducing corruption in the education system on the whole and in testing in particular. Exams are now guarded and distributed by the police/army. Her general impression of the man was that he was very good, but sloooow. Apparently he supports our kid's school somehow (bias?).

 

[Missnaughty]

Apparently he supports our kid's school somehow (bias?).

Is this about International school? Let's take be agree that when I said International school, I refer to a school such as JIS, BIS, AIS, French and German School.. not Pelita Harapan International School, Abc Int'l, Islamic bla bla Int'l School..
Origanlly, this international school to accommodate expats, diplomat and others who works abroad and in need of education of their children. For some, local schools were assumed not adequate with the education standard back home. So this kind of international is exclusively to serve foreigners. Some local students who are enrolled in this kind of school are usually holding another foreign passport. (Don't asked how on earth an Indonesian citizen holding more than 1 passport!). Back in 1998, during bad crisis, the school proposed to Indonesian govt to accept locals to support the school. Proposal granted and the Indo govt agreed on 25% quota. In my opinion, this regulation should be wiped when the students enrolment gone back to normal and those who already enrolled should be able to finish the school. I know for sure, that in China, citizen are not allowed to enrol in Intl School.. I can imagine chinese student gone back from home and tell the parents that they need to elect the President like they do Head Student election at school.. . So, in my opinions, the minister is actually put International School back in its position.. But, the banning of "International" word really doesnt make any sense. Any other schools who implement different curriculum should be fall under private school, while implementing foreign curriculum, it should be on the same line as national curriculum..

 

[HappyMan]

Is this about International school? Let's take be agree that when I said International school, I refer to a school such as JIS, BIS, AIS, French and German School.. not Pelita Harapan International School, Abc Int'l, Islamic bla bla Int'l School..

No, it's a local school in Bandung, Sekolah Kuntum Cemerlang. Apparently he supported two of the schools we were looking into for pre-K... but I have no idea how. The lovely lady was responding to my tirade about the man (see Puspa for the relevant points) and the bit about him supporting SKC was tossed onto the end of her arguments. I thought his support for the school might bias my darling wife a bit in the minister's favor (she loves that school), so I included that fact as a "grain of salt". I should say that I trust her totally when it comes to matters of our child's education. She is better educated than I, and a better learner to boot. Also, she can understand the local news the first time she reads/sees it.

 

[Missnaughty]

Yay MissNaughty! Thanks for the interesting points, well worth debating:



So should Indonesian diplomats - say, for example, the Indonesian Ambassador to the US or Britain - be banned from having children? Or perhaps required to leave their children with relatives in Indonesia?

What about the idea that parents should be able to decide what is best for their children? Let's imagine for a moment that I am Indonesian but married to an American citizen. We're raising our kids in Indonesia, but hope they will attend university in the US. If we can't educate them in English, using an IB or American curriculum, their chances of getting into a selective school in America are minimal indeed. Are you saying the Indonesian Government should be able to force us to educate our children in a manner that we feel is not in their best interests?


.

Isn't that the purpose of International school like JIS/BIS and a like, to provide an education for foreigners who reside in certain country where school/education are not in the same standard as the education back home? Certainly, Int'l school was not made to provide education for local citizen.

And for mix marriage family, like me, it is fall into our choice where to put our children. I have decided from the beginning that my children will not receive their education in Indonesia, therefore their path would be international school when we are not in husband's home country. If in the future, I see that having Indonesian education gives more advantage, they will then need to have National Exam. In fact, we have changed our mind once, I put them in British School thinking that they will have their continuing education in england, but after getting more educated myself, I've seen that opportunities for those graduated from USA is more than those graduated from UK. I am seeing it with my asian eyes of course.. You see, even with international school, all again depend on your voice. As a mixed marriage producing dual citizen children, if you decide to raise your kids under their Indonesian citizen, they should receive Indonesian education as it is not only teach basic knowledge like math, english etc but also to have the essence of Indonesian.

 

[Missnaughty]

No, it's a local school in Bandung, Sekolah Kuntum Cemerlang. Apparently he supported two of the schools we were looking into for pre-K... but I have no idea how. The lovely lady was responding to my tirade about the man (see Puspa for the relevant points) and the bit about him supporting SKC was tossed onto the end of her arguments. I thought his support for the school might bias my darling wife a bit in the minister's favor (she loves that school), so I included that fact as a "grain of salt". I should say that I trust her totally when it comes to matters of our child's education. She is better educated than I, and a better learner to boot. Also, she can understand the local news the first time she reads/sees it.

Sorry I've misread your post. He is not against what language should the school teach the students.. but more what's in it. He is not against a school using Cambridge or other curriculum, but his requirement that with those curriculum, the students (read local citizens) need to learn other subjects and following the govt guidance.

PS : I hate it when I have to discuss interesting topic in english.. My english is no better than Donald Trump! Language is one of my weaknesses!

 

[Puspawarna]

PS : I hate it when I have to discuss interesting topic in english.. My english is no better than Donald Trump! Language is one of my weaknesses!

No, Missnaughty, you are fine!

 

[Puspawarna]

Isn't that the purpose of International school like JIS/BIS and a like, to provide an education for foreigners who reside in certain country where school/education are not in the same standard as the education back home? Certainly, Int'l school was not made to provide education for local citizen.

And for mix marriage family, like me, it is fall into our choice where to put our children. I have decided from the beginning that my children will not receive their education in Indonesia, therefore their path would be international school when we are not in husband's home country. If in the future, I see that having Indonesian education gives more advantage, they will then need to have National Exam. In fact, we have changed our mind once, I put them in British School thinking that they will have their continuing education in england, but after getting more educated myself, I've seen that opportunities for those graduated from USA is more than those graduated from UK. I am seeing it with my asian eyes of course.. You see, even with international school, all again depend on your voice. As a mixed marriage producing dual citizen children, if you decide to raise your kids under their Indonesian citizen, they should receive Indonesian education as it is not only teach basic knowledge like math, english etc but also to have the essence of Indonesian.

I don't disagree with your points above, Missnaughty, but they don't answer my question. You had said that you support banning Indonesians from international schools; in other words, all Indonesian citizens should be forced to be educated in Indonesian schools. If that is the case, how can Indonesian citizens be expected to educate their children while they live abroad, if there is a ban on attending international schools? I assume you only mean if people are living in Indonesia, of course - surely you would allow the Indonesian Ambassador to the US to send his kids to a public school in Prince George's County Maryland, right? Okay, take it a step further - suppose an Indonesian family living in Indonesia wants to send their child to a boarding school outside of Indonesia? Should that be banned as well?

I don't see how your statement that 'Indonesian Citizen living in Indonesia should not go to "International School", actually they should be banned of entering International School" is consistent with your own actions. You sent your kids to the British School - yet you think Indonesians should be banned from attending?

 

[William King]

So what made Buswaden a good Minister, in the eyes of your colleagues? The only policy changes I can think of that I presume occurred under his tenure are (1) requiring Indonesian citizens educated at "international" schools to sit for the national examinations; (2) requiring non-Indonesian citizens to have coursework in Indonesian language and culture in order to graduate high school within Indonesia; and (3) banning use of the word "international" in school names.

None of those three steps represent any kind of sweeping reform designed to improve the education system for ordinary Indonesians - and there is more than a whiff of pointless nationalism to some of it. So are there other steps he oversaw that genuinely improved education in the country?

Each of those steps had already been planned by the department and the precious Minister, Muhammad Nuri, as early as 2010. They just happened to be signed into law during Buswaden's tenure. The sighning also coincided with the JIS fracas.... make of that what you will. Perhaps Anies had been resisting signing these regulations but when it all blew up he had to give in, or perhaps at the time he genuinely thought it was required.

Anyway, without getting into the the debate about national or international schools etc. He has also attempted to improve Primary education. Unfortunately, the implementation and news reporting does not quite do his efforts justice. His aim was for SD schools to reduce a crowded curriculum and move towards holistic or interdisciplinary learning, as per best practise around the world. The result was everyone focused on the 'dropping' of English from the curriculum. His concept was English should not be learned in isolation from other subjects, it should be learned as part of humanities or part of science etc.

Someone else said he reduced corruption. Actually when I visit DIKNAS now even if we bring a brown envelope with cash and hand it over when signing documents it will be politely given back. Officials visiting our school for evaluation etc tell us no money or presents. The BAN agency applies the criteria more strictly now as they are using them genuinely rather than accepting money.

He has also increased the education and national certification of all teachers in the country. From more than half of Indonesian teachers not having an S1 or Bachelor degree to nearly all having this minimum qualification. Many more teaches now have certification from the ministry and many more are being upgraded and trained even now.

Increasing the requirements for foreign teachers I can understand the intent, though the implementation is a little rigid and lacking.

He's required Principals and teachers of local schools to be more accountable with money and to their parents.

 

[Puspawarna]

Thanks WK, that's all very informative.

A couple of the many weaknesses that (outsiders, anyway) have identified in the Indonesian education system are poorly trained teachers and a gender imbalance in educational opportunities (namely, girls in remote areas are less likely to be allowed to do the travel/time away from home needed for educational purposes). I wonder to what extent the Ministry has been trying, or will try, to address those issues.

 

[rabbit_39]

If I see any reason for Indonesians to be patriotic and have pride in their country, I may be able to understand mssN's argument though I'd never agree to it.

But really why handicap the children when they have the opportunity to be more and contribute to society and the world? There are many examples of great potential Indonesians who are ruined by the Indonesian education system and it took a lot of additional effort on their part to succeed in the world and fulfill their potential.

 

[William King]

Thanks WK, that's all very informative.

A couple of the many weaknesses that (outsiders, anyway) have identified in the Indonesian education system are poorly trained teachers and a gender imbalance in educational opportunities (namely, girls in remote areas are less likely to be allowed to do the travel/time away from home needed for educational purposes). I wonder to what extent the Ministry has been trying, or will try, to address those issues.

You're welcome. Under Baswedan they were making huge efforts, and some inroads with teacher training and quality.

about gender, I am not sure.

 

[Missnaughty]

I don't disagree with your points above, Missnaughty, but they don't answer my question. You had said that you support banning Indonesians from international schools; in other words, all Indonesian citizens should be forced to be educated in Indonesian schools. If that is the case, how can Indonesian citizens be expected to educate their children while they live abroad, if there is a ban on attending international schools? I assume you only mean if people are living in Indonesia, of course - surely you would allow the Indonesian Ambassador to the US to send his kids to a public school in Prince George's County Maryland, right? Okay, take it a step further - suppose an Indonesian family living in Indonesia wants to send their child to a boarding school outside of Indonesia? Should that be banned as well?

I don't see how your statement that 'Indonesian Citizen living in Indonesia should not go to "International School", actually they should be banned of entering International School" is consistent with your own actions. You sent your kids to the British School - yet you think Indonesians should be banned from attending?

When I am saying Indonesians living in Indonesia should be banned to go to international schools, meaning Intl school within the country jurisdiction, as our govt has provided and arrange the education designed for the citizen of Indonesia. In term of academically, Puspa, I have no reason to doubt that Indonesian curriculum is on par with any other country in the world.
For those who live abroad, as Indonesian school arent available in many countries, they of course in a sense, allowed to get an education. But, when coming back to Indonesia they must follow Indonesian curriculum to put them on the same standard with everybody else in Indonesia. I guess, my opinions come to what I have experienced in many countries. Of course, Govt can't do more if the parents decide to send their kids abroad, and when they decided to earn Indoensian degree, they must pass what is required by Indonesian govt.

 

[Puspawarna]

I have no reason to doubt that Indonesian curriculum is on par with any other country in the world.

Hmm, I think a lot of people would argue that this is not true - I can't make the case one way or the other, since I have only a tiny bit of knowledge, and that is second-hand, of Indonesian schools. But if you truly believe this, why send your kids to BIS?

 

[Missnaughty]

Anis Baswedan was to reform Indonesian education. He put more focus on building and shaping up mentality (social skills and Indoensian value) rather than academic success in the early years education. I can't really tell what he did to improve education system, as none of my children are in local school. But I have heard from many local friends, from many background, they are all happy with the improvement.