Natasia Christy & Herman, Jakarta – A week after Indonesia Corruption Watch demanded the termination of the 2013 Curriculum, the Federation of Indonesian Teachers Associations (FSGI) is now joining the call to close the book on the much-criticized initiative.
FSGI is an nongovernmental organization representing twelve teacher unions from various parts of the country. The organization says that the new curriculum cannot be implemented effectively because teachers are not ready and the necessary infrastructure is not in place.
"Book distribution is only one of the problems," FSGI general secretary Retno Listyarti said on Monday. "There are still many others, such as unprepared teachers and ineffective training. The problems are not only technical, but also substantial."
Another complaint by the teachers' association is the level of difficulty of the new curriculum, with complicated subjects being presented to students early in the year.
"It should be offered in stages, starting with the easier materials, then medium-level [difficulty], and then the hard parts. For maths, the problems are too hard, many are taken from the PISA [Program for International Student Assessment] – even many teachers can't solve them," Retno added.
According to the FSGI, the new grading system, which is aimed at assessing affective, knowledge-based and psychomotoric development, is also problematic.
"The assessment has to be given for each theme, but not all teachers are able to do this... because they haven't been trained. They also have to develop learning scenarios, but they haven't even been given the books yet," Retno said.
The FSGI general secretary said it is clear the country is not ready for the new curriculum. "I demand the government to stop the implementation of the 2013 Curriculum, and go back to using the one from 2006. If we proceed, there will be nothing but failure. The kids' future is at stake here," she said.
Education Minister Mohammad Nuh says the delays in providing the new books are due merely to technical problems. "People used to buy the books themselves and there was no problem," Nuh said on Monday. "Now, it is said that we will provide books for free, and everyone is just waiting."
However, Nuh said, this is not his ministry's responsibility, as it is the Goods and Services Procurement Policy Institution (LKPP)'s job to open a tender and schools should take care of the payment. "Yet people complain to us," Nuh said.
The minister also said that teachers can download the learning materials on the Rumah Belajar website or access the materials through CDs distributed to schools. However, he said, some schools refuse to pay for printing or making copies.
"I went do Dili Serdang [a district in North Sumatera] and the education agency is creative there. The books haven't arrived, but they have received the CDs, so they printed the materials and copied them using the School Operational Assistance [BOS] funds. The students get the materials – done," he said.
But Retno from FSGI was not convinced. "How about the schools in rural areas that can't access the Internet and do not have photocopy machines?" she asked. "Even if there are copy machines, a sizable sum is needed as each student is entitled to nine books."
"It's sad, they want to make copies but don't have the money, but if they don't make copies, the students can't study."
The ministry says it has demanded that printing, procurement and delivery are fast-tracked, but that some delays are inevitable, especially when schools refuse to pay.
"Some schools wouldn't pay because they receive no commission," Nuh said. "Market conditions are not ideal, they [schools] got the books but some wouldn't pay," he added, explaining that some publishers are now reluctant to print the books.
Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/teacher-unions-want-govt-close-book-2013-curriculum/