Jakarta (Koran Tempo: 06/07/06) The two national examinations carried out in 2006 are full of surprises. First: passing rate increases dramatically. Senior high schools’ passing rate increases from 80.76 % in 2005 to 92.50 %, Islamic senior high schools’ from 80.73 % to 90.82 % and vocational schools’ passing rate from 78.29 % to 91.00 %. Second: confession of teachers and students from several regions that they have been witnessing or involved in cheating during the national examination.

The first one explains the result and the second one explains the process. The satisfactory result of the national examination that has made the government proud in fact was a result of manipulation. Therefore, teachers who are aware of the process warned the government not to use the high passing rate as an indicator of national education quality.

Teachers are not unaware of the risks of what they were doing, but their conscience rules. During four national examinations they have to keep silence and let themselves be fooled to satisfy their superiors. Moreover, the national exam has enrobed their pedagogical rights in determining students’ graduation.

They are the ones who know everything about their students, but it was the government who determine whether their students could graduate or not. Such an intervention illustrates the government’s lack of confidence in teachers.

What those teachers have been revealed in very astonishing. The national examination which the government hopes could encourage students to work harder, have been manipulated systematically. At least three modus of cheating have been exercised during the national examination; in each case, teachers were playing the role of ‘operator’:  First, before the test, teachers leaked the problems, as confessed by students in Garut, who have been told to come earlier to school to get the answer of the test from the teacher.

Second, problems were solved during the test, usually carried out by a team of teachers. The answers were distributed using various means, as cell phone, like the one that took place in Cilegon, with one or two students served as a hub. They were tasked to receive and distribute the answer to other students using certain code. Some of them wrote down the answer on a small piece of paper to be put in a place that have been agreed earlier to be collected by other students.

Third, the team worked after the test. Usually students are asked to leave the difficult problems, later the team will fill down the answer after the test. Some other let the student answer the problems and the team will correct the wrong answers after the tests.

Even though most of the cheating took place in schools, it does not mean that the National Education Ministry should not be held responsible, because the source of the problem is the national examination. Through the national examination, the government has re-centralized the education, while service and funding have been de-centralized.

The reason behind this effort is assumption that teachers and lazy students should be blamed for the low education quality. The government has taken over teachers’ authority to determine graduation in order to force them to work harder.

In reality it was the government who has failed in carrying out its duty to provide education of quality, which eventually makes students and teachers uncomfortable in carrying out the learning-teaching process. Through the national examination, regions and schools are forced to justify the government’s assumptions, while it is impossible to fulfill the demand in such a condition.

Education services in regions are usually very poor. Therefore, there were forced to cheat. Moreover schools and regions’ prestige is at stake in the national examination. No wonder, pressure have been exercised in all the levels. Regional administration, under the pressure of the central government, in turn exercises pressure on schools.

In Garut, for instance, head of regency has threatened to transfer school principles if his/her school’s passing rate is below 95 % (Republika, May 17, 2006). Therefore, the national examination is no longer related to the interest of education but it has been used as means for political purposes. One the one side, it could satisfy central government’s need, and on the other side it will improve regional bureaucracy’s image who were considered of having succeeded in improving education quality.

Finally, the national examination becomes counter-productive for the national education. What we finally get is a total failure and a lot of problems. The systematic cheating is not only disturbing the mapping of national education condition, it affects students and teachers badly as well. Students’ creativity was confined.

They were forced to spend more time to study the subject chosen by the government. While the main objective of education is to build a smart, creative, and independent personalities who are able to overcome the problems they are facing. The entire objectives would be achieved if students are given more time and opportunity to upgrade themselves by learning the entire subject taught in schools.

More over students and teachers spirit have been destroyed in an effort to satisfy regions and schools’ prestige. No more appreciation is given for those who have learnt seriously because all of them have been taken over by the national examination’ ‘success team.’ And the most dangerous is its impact on students’ morality. By cheating, students are taught not to respect the process.

They are allowed to use any means, good or bad, in order to get what they want. Of course this situation is against the education objective. Therefore, sanctioning regional heads or schools involved in cheating will not end the problem.

On the contrary what the government should do is addressing the source of the problem: its policy in the national examination. The government should start to change the instant mentality with hard work spirit. Education of good quality should begin by providing better service.

By: Ade Irawan
Public Service Monitoring Manager of ICW, secretary of Education Coalition