Ref: Tidak terdidik dan tertinggal dari negeri-negeri lain tidak apa-apa, karena masalahnya tidak terkait kehidupan kaum berkuasa dan elit. Mereka ini mempunyai sumber untuk membiayai anak-anak mereka dididik pada sekolah-sekolah berstandar wahid atau juga dikirim ke luarnegeri untuk belajar pada lembaga-lembaga pendidikan atau universitas ternama atas biaya pribadi keluarga atau negara. Latar belakangnya ialah ditargetkan agar mereka dan keturunan mereka tetap memegang kunci dan kemudi kekuasaan bahtera negara. Pengertian rakyat pintar negeri maju, bukan agenda politik pendidikan rezim Neo-Mojopahit dan hal ini patut dipahami, sebab kalau banyak atau makin banyak dikalangan rakyat menjadi pintar, maka kekuasaan lalim berdasarkan ketidakadilan dan penipuan yang membawa kemelaratan pada rakyat dapat diguncangkan dan diruntuhkan, dan oleh sebab itu sekali pun dikatakan kermerdekaan sudah hampir berumur hampir 70 tahun dibatasi dan dipersulit perkembangan pendidikan bermutu di wilayah periferi.
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2013/05/02/editorial-uneducated-nation.html Editorial: Uneducated nation The Jakarta Post | Editorial | Thu, May 02 2013, 8:57 AM A- A A+ Paper Edition | Page: 6 The national examination fiasco and reports of alleged misuse of the education budget that has preceded National Education Day, which falls today, only remind us of the amount of homework that remains undone, or perhaps has been swept under the carpet. The delayed exams for senior high school students in 11 provinces as a result of printing and distribution hassles last month have led to calls for Education and Culture Minister Mohammad Nuh to resign. Demands for Nuh’s departure have also been fed by his controversial push for a new curriculum, which critics say will play havoc with the national education system as it was drawn up in less than a year. But even if President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono acceded to the calls and dismissed his minister, the state of national education would be unlikely to change. The predicament besetting the national education system has long stemmed from the mentality of policymakers entrusted to deal with educational affairs, a mentality which has resisted, if not curtailed, reform. Budget constraints in the past were blamed for the state of the national education system, which has lagged behind that of developed countries and several neighboring states. Since 2008 education spending has been set at 20 percent of the total budget thanks to a constitutional amendment, but it failed to significantly enhance the quality of education in general mostly because the lion’s share of the education budget goes on teachers’ salaries, allowances and bureaucracy rather than programs and projects to improve educational standards. The “huge” education budget has not elevated Indonesia to new heights in the world map of education, with the exception of a few bright students who have excelled in various international science competitions overseas. UNESCO’s Education for All (EFA) Global Monitoring Report 2011 ranked Indonesia 69th out of 127 countries surveyed, with an education development index rate of 0.934 or still below the minimum standard of 0.95-1 required to make progress. Finland, which topped the world ranking, allocates 25 percent of its budget for education. But unlike Indonesia, most of the education budget is dedicated to early education. Each family receives a maternity package comprising books for the parents and their baby; the government encourages the publication of as many books for children as possible to instill the reading habit; teachers are recruited from the top 10 graduates in universities to stimulate active classes; and national exams only serve as a matriculation exercise for students wishing to pursue higher education. Focus, dedication and commitment are the key if Indonesia is to replicate Finland’s success. Indonesia need not necessarily follow the European country’s path, but an overhaul of the national education system is imperative anyway. Students across the country lack the reading habit and, hence, writing and discursive skills while teachers fail to transfer knowledge but simply expose their students to a rigorous drill in order to help them move up a grade and pass the final exam. The students are taught in classes where they hear without listening, talk without speaking and know without understanding. Worse, the students easily spot the discrepancies between what they learn in class and the reality outside their schools. National leaders and public figures who are expected to act as role models set bad examples in their intentional contempt for the law. Like it or not, the fruits of our education include a generation which resorts to short-cuts for instant results and takes pride in status rather than achievement. In the context of nation building, formal education has done little to promote mutual respect among diverse ethnic, cultural, socioeconomic and religious groups. Despite our internationally acclaimed performing economy and working democracy, doubts still linger about whether we are yet an educated nation. http://www.gatra.com/nusantara-1/nasional-1/29588-pendidikan-indonesia-jauh-tertinggal-dari-negara-lain.html Pendidikan Indonesia Jauh Tertinggal dari Negara Lain Thursday, 02 May 2013 22:00 Published Date Jakarta, GATRAnews - Asosiasi Dosen Indonesia (ADI) menilai, penyelenggaraan dan mutu pendidikan negeri ini masih jauh dari harapan, bahkan cenderung tertinggal dari negara lain. "Kita bisa sama-sama melihat realitas pendidian negeri ini, masih sangat jauh dari harapan. Bahkan, jauh tertinggal dari negara-negara lain," kata Ketua Umum Majelis Pengurus Pusat ADI, Armai Arief, di kampus Uhamka, Jakarta Timur, Kamis (2/5). Menurutnya, penilaian tersebut didasarkan pada lima hal. Pertama, kebijakan-kebijakan pendidikan yang cenderung memihak, kedua, kian mahalnya biaya pendidikan dari tahun ke tahun. "Ketiga, rendahnya kualitas Sumber Daya Manusia (SDM) yang dihasilkan untuk bersaing secara global, keempat; kurang fokusnya pemerintah dalam mengevaluasi dan mengkaji ulang kebijakan-kebijakan pendidikan yang telah digulirkan," rincinya. Sedangkan kelima, imbuh dia, peran organisasi kepakaran bidang pendidikan, tidak diberdayakan sebagai mitra pemerintah untuk membuat kebijakan dan mengevaluasi, serta membantu perkembangan pendidikan Indonesia. Sebagai asosiasi kepakaran di bidang pendidikan, ADI menjadikan hal tersebut di atas sebagai bahan kajian dan evaluasi, serta pemikiran untuk bersama-sama membangun dan memajukan ilmu pengetahuan dan teknologi demi berkontribusi pada kemajuan bangsa. (IS) [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
