New Education Minister

[William King]

An idea so breathtakingly stupid, it could only have come from an Indonesian minister. Nevermind that even with school days ending at around noon, half the time I see the kids out by 10am.

Anyway, the idea lasted only a couple of days:

https://m.tempo.co/read/news/2016/0...adjir-rencana-sekolah-sehari-penuh-dibatalkan

If I read that correctly, he has not exactly canceled the idea, only said that he will back down if the public doesnt want it.

However, at the bottom he is saying it will still be assessed or decided by a committee ?

Or is that just a face saving withdrawal ?

 

[macvert]

Whether or not the idea had any merit I think most of it's opposition would have come from those teachers not wanting to lose their cushy conditions.

 

[fastpitch17]

If I read that correctly, he has not exactly canceled the idea, only said that he will back down if the public doesnt want it.

However, at the bottom he is saying it will still be assessed or decided by a committee ?

Or is that just a face saving withdrawal ?

He also made it sound that he will impliment it in some schools and see how it goes. I would be curious to see if those schools have any relation to his family or friends. Having a Minister enacting programs that affect many in order to help a few is nothing new.

 

[William King]

Whether or not the idea had any merit I think most of it's opposition would have come from those teachers not wanting to lose their cushy conditions.

Did you miss a sarcastic smilie there?

 

[nd_eric_77]

Whether or not the idea had any merit I think most of it's opposition would have come from those teachers not wanting to lose their cushy conditions.

There is a lot more to it than that... Students often go to courses after school. No bimbel or tempat les wants to lose its business. Furthermore, many local teachers (of sekolah negeri) earn more from giving after-school private lessons than they do from their actual jobs. If a teacher makes 4 jt / month @ sekolah negeri and 5 jt / month from private lessons, then of course he / she will oppose having working hours extended and a massive income reduction.

 

[macvert]

Did you miss a sarcastic smilie there?

yep,sort of,.... & felt I should clarify for my own peace of mind

 

[dafluff]

If I read that correctly, he has not exactly canceled the idea, only said that he will back down if the public doesnt want it.

However, at the bottom he is saying it will still be assessed or decided by a committee ?

Or is that just a face saving withdrawal ?

Even if his idea has merit, the school infrastructure is simply not able to do this. Schools in Indonesia lack class rooms, and thus a very large number of schools have to have half their student body come in the morning, the other half in the afternoon. Or have two schools using the same building, one morning school and one afternoon school. Even the school names state this, for example: SD Negeri Tebet Barat 05 Pagi and SD Negeri Tebet Barat 06 Petang

I'd expected the Minister of Education to know this, but apparently knowing stuff is not a requirement. So yeah, unless he can build several hundred schools overnight, his plan isn't going anywhere.

 

[Scooterindo]

The question that hasn't been raised yet is the salary of the teachers who are expected to work longer hours, will it be increased to take into account the longer hours ?? If it isn't one has to question the quality of the additional education these kids will receive.

 

[nd_eric_77]

How long would it actually take to enact such a proposal? Who do they think will accompany the students? Teachers? Then that would require a massive pay raise to compensate for the extra working hours... And then a massive tuition increase to pay for the pay raise... Then who should get the blame for the price increase? Hopefully the minister who brought about the changes.

The question that hasn't been raised yet is the salary of the teachers who are expected to work longer hours, will it be increased to take into account the longer hours ?? If it isn't one has to question the quality of the additional education these kids will receive.

Perhaps the question has not been raised in the public sphere yet, but it has been raised here.

 

[William King]

The question that hasn't been raised yet is the salary of the teachers who are expected to work longer hours, will it be increased to take into account the longer hours ?? If it isn't one has to question the quality of the additional education these kids will receive.

He wasn't talking about additional education... this apparently was born of a need to get kids off streets, so it's more of a baby sitting option. His plan was for dancing, fun stuff and learning more about Islam.

 

[fastpitch17]

Kalla was the first out to say, "let's try it and see how it goes." I would venture to guess that this minister was a Kalla choice and Kalla needed to save his face. Not surprising if something not so bad goes away and is replaced by bad that Kalla may be involved.

 

[macvert]

The first thing that should be addressed is the day to day inconsistency of school hours that are consistently changed on a whim with the younger the kids are the more this inconsistency puts them at risk & effects the ability of families to effectively organise their daily lives.


It happened yet again to us today,someone “apparently” forgot to tell the kids that there would be no extra curricular English Club this afternoon & when our 13 year old arrived home unexpectedly on the back of some kid's scooter we weren't happy, not only because the kid with the scooter has no license but what if we weren't home & the place was locked, what if we turned up at the school at the “apparent” finish time to find the place deserted?


The duty of care of some seems to be non existent except when it suits the exercising of their own self interest / importance & this stifling of families ability to effectively organise their daily lives around their kids schooling is shameful. These people should be told in no uncertain terms to conform to set & rigid hours of operation or get another job.

 

[Nimbus]

I see some resistance from Indonesian parents on FB. This guy is an academic and he has written several books, I think. However, I don't see any credential specific to education. This doesn't look good, he appears to be just another political appointee eager to make his mark.

Look, he is from Muhammadiyah. The organization has its own school system from kindergarten to university. Why can't he just talk to administrators of the education arm in Muhammadiyah and ask for input, before he makes any comment? They would be far more qualified than him in the subject, having run schools for decades.

 

[godmachine12]

Get off the Obama boat. He lived here 3 years. Maybe we should blame all his weaknesses on going to school here.

Hahahahahaha :-D :-D :-D

Well, if Obama did it, then it must be good enough, right?

 

[godmachine12]

He wasn't talking about additional education... this apparently was born of a need to get kids off streets, so it's more of a baby sitting option. His plan was for dancing, fun stuff and learning more about Islam.

I believe one of the great ideas put forward was to have the kids recite veres from the Quran together. I guess if you're not Muslim, you just get to go sit in the corner or something.

 

[godmachine12]

In my opinions : Indonesian schools are focusing purely on academic result. There is rank, rate and what grade you are on. Students are valued by numbers.

How about when those scores are artificial? An entrenched culture of cheating and schools not willing to allow students to fail (for me, this is one of the most harrowing, pernicious things happening in school here) isn't promising by any means.

 

[atlantis]

I've had this argument before..... and lost. Apparently, the religion taught should be their own.

It is correct in the sense that the religious education of a student should be in accordance with his/her religious belief and must be done by an educator of his/her religion. However it doesn't mean that he/she can not also be superficially informed of the basics of other religion. My kids (one in a Christian private school and the two other in a SPK) have had an introductory course about other religions.

If there are more than 15 kids of the same religion in the same classroom, the teaching must be done within the class room. If there are less than 15 students of the same religion in a class room, but at least 15 in the whole school, the teaching must be done within the school but by grouping other students from other classrooms. If there are less than 15 students of the same religion in a whole school, religious teaching can be done outside school, in association with other school or with the relevant religious institution.

 

[macvert]

How about when those scores are artificial? An entrenched culture of cheating and schools not willing to allow students to fail (for me, this is one of the most harrowing, pernicious things happening in school here) isn't promising by any means.

don't even attempt to get me started

 

[Pak Asam Manis]

Even if his idea has merit, the school infrastructure is simply not able to do this. Schools in Indonesia lack class rooms, and thus a very large number of schools have to have half their student body come in the morning, the other half in the afternoon. Or have two schools using the same building, one morning school and one afternoon school. Even the school names state this, for example: SD Negeri Tebet Barat 05 Pagi and SD Negeri Tebet Barat 06 Petang

Yep. RIP, half-baked plan. It could conceivably "work" in some schools, but certainly not in all (and being able to technically "work" would not in itself make it a good idea).