Recruitment seen key to education

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta, October 19, 2007

Education experts have said that the government needs to improve its recruitment process if it wishes to hire higher-quality teachers.

"We won't be able to improve our education system unless the recruitment process for teachers is improved," Darmaningtyas from Taman Siswa told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

"Certification tests must be based on a balance between the written test that includes mastery of materials and teaching methods, because not all teachers who have mastered subjects are skilled enough to teach students."

In some areas, he added, teachers were still recruited only on the basis of their subject and academic achievements.

Anita Lie, a teaching methodology expert, said due to the lack of qualified teachers, Indonesia needed to work harder to ensure that all children completed primary education

"All teachers that pass the certification process need to master pedagogy to solve the problems that surface in the education sector," she said.

"In addition, policymakers should also check teachers' performances directly in order to make a clear direction for the purpose of this country's education sector," Anita added.

According to the Education Ministry, Indonesia has around 2.8 million teachers. This year's certification program covered 250,000 teachers.

The minimal pass score for teachers this year was 850 in a test involving three components: academic qualifications and teaching experience; education, training and evaluations; and involvement in scientific forums and organizational experiences in education and sociology.

According to Setiono Sugiharto, one of the test assessors, few teachers scored 850, meaning that most did not qualify.

The lack of certified, experienced teachers has led the public to assume that only the country's best schools, both state and private, have certified teachers.

Theresia Seneng Rahayu, 39, said she preferred to send her children to a private school in the capital because she believed it would give them more advantages because they would have highly experienced teachers.

"Teachers here often attend seminars that may improve their knowledge and experience," she said.

Meanwhile, a 51 year-old working mother, who lives in Surabaya, said she preferred state-run schools to private ones.

"But it should be the best state-run schools in town, because I think teachers there have proved to be the qualified ones," said Reni Ekawati.