The removal of the National Examination Program is in the works, through the initiative of Jakarta’s Education minister.
Scrapping the National Examination Program
JAKARTA – Education and Culture minister Nadiem Makarim files a petition for the removal of the National Examination Program (NEP) in schools.
The National exam is one way to determining whether a student is eligible to proceed to the next grade level. The exam consists of a series of tests conducted on three consecutive days.
The level of difficulty for both rural and urban schools are the same, despite the common knowledge that rural areas receive less quality education compared to those from the city.
The level of education in urban places are known to be more advanced and of high quality. While those from rural areas sometimes lack the proper facilities and adequate teachers and staff to be considered equally competitive with those from the city. The situation leaves the exam as a measurement for learning very questionable.
Memorization of learning materials is a common scenario before National exams. Some experts are against this type of preparation; hence, it teaches students to sharpen their short-term memory instead of their stored memory from long-term learnings. Long-term memory access is more valuable when it comes to real-life applications.
Exam schedules are usually arranged within the school year, sometimes towards the end of the third quarter of the academic year. The scheduling of the National may conflict with the class schedules of students, making them distracted at either school or with taking the exam.
Leakage of exam answer keys has also been a determining factor of considering to halt the continuation of the National Examination Program. There are several accounts of answer leakage on some schools in exchange for payment. Parents wanting their child to score higher in the NEP will likely pay for any leakage available.
The decision of the Education minister
An official from the Directorate General of Primary and Secondary Education and a staff from the Education minister’s office traded ideas regarding education policies and as well as the matter on the national examination. The agreement they have agreed upon during the discussion will be presented to the National Education Standards Agency on Tuesday.
The agency will fully support the decision taken by the Minister of Education.
-Abdul Mu’ti, National Education Standards Agency Chairman
Featured image by eco-Business
