School of Medicine of Yogyakarta's Gadjah Mada University (UGM) ranks 103rd

Slamet Susanto , The Jakarta Post , Yogyakarta | Wed, 10/14/2009 4:41 PM | National

The School of Medicine at Gadjah Mada University (UGM) has again improved its world ranking by three places to sit at 103rd, a survey has revealed.

The Times Higher Education Survey (THES) QS World University Rankings 2009 , Life Sciences and Biomedicine category surveyed 1,000 medical faculties around the world and published its results last Friday.

The University of Indonesia's (UI) School of Medicine and that of Airlangga University rank 126th and 224th.

Dean of the School of Medicine at UGM Ali Ghufron Mukti said Wednesday that his office had upgraded its management system to increase the quality of all lecturers, students and other related staff over the past three years.

“We expect this achievement will contribute to UGM's efforts to become a world-class university,” he said.

Teaching college aims to raise education standards

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Thu, 10/08/2009 11:42 AM | National

Seventeen-year-old Sufyan Suri could not hide his enthusiasm when he spoke of his dream to become a teacher.

The high school graduate from Kotabaru, South Kalimantan, leaned forward and used hand gestures to emphasize Indonesia's need for more skilled teachers and to redefine its teacher-student relationship.

"There is a gap between teachers and students that restricts them from effectively communicating with each other," he told The Jakarta Post at the Sampoerna School of Education college in Jakarta on Wednesday. "We need to change this.

"Students should feel comfortable approaching their teachers."

Sufyan and 88 other students, all from underprivileged families, were granted scholarships yesterday from Indonesia's first private teachers college.

Forty-three students received full scholarships worth more than Rp 223 million (US$23,000) each. The remaining 46 were granted scholarships that covered their tuition fees for four years, worth Rp 168 million each.

The students were selected out of 1,200 applicants to major in mathematics or English at the undergraduate institution. Seventy-one students were from Java, 14 from Sumatra, two from Bali and two from Kalimantan.

Paulina Pannen, the school's dean, said she wanted to ensure students were provided with the skills to become highly qualified teachers, exceeding international standards.

The school has teamed up with Iowa University in the US, Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, and Massey University in New Zealand to develop its curriculum.

"We encourage our students to research and develop innovative teaching methodologies," she said.

The school has been structured to qualify students as senior high school teachers. To aid their learning, the school requires students to complete an internship, teaching in high schools for one semester in their final year.

"Our students will teach in one of the 17 state senior high schools and five Madrasah *Muslim schools* that the Sampoerna Foundation supports," she said.

The foundation, established by tobacco giant PT Hanjaya Mandala Sampoerna, has been providing schools with assistance to improve teacher quality through its United Schools Program.

Muchlas, from the Directorate of Higher Education at the National Education Ministry, said he hoped the school would enhance education in each of Indonesia's regions.

"I would like to see the school's graduates return to their respective regions to improve education across the country," he added.

Paulina said she strongly encouraged her students to apply their knowledge in their hometowns. She said that was where teachers were needed because schools in cities had "relatively adequate facilities" and many skilled teachers.

"Sampoerna graduates will be great assets to their regions because they are being trained to become highly skilled teachers," she added.

Sufyan said he looked forward to teaching in his hometown.

"We must give back to our communities and help them to prosper," he said. (adh)

Teachers are Encouraged to Conduct Research

Excerpt:
Teachers who have got their professional certification and benefit are encouraged to conduct research and attend training programs on teaching methodology and material development to further enhance their professional development. Such a policy, which aims at monitoring and improving teachers' quality, will be implemented after the certification process is completed.

Guru Diarahkan Adakan Penelitian
Upaya Meningkatkan Kualitas Setelah Sertifikasi
Sabtu, 10 Oktober 2009 | 03:59 WIB

Jakarta, Kompas - Untuk meningkatkan kualitas tenaga pendidik, guru yang sudah memperoleh sertifikasi dan tunjangan guru akan tetap dipantau. Pemantauan termasuk juga pemberikan pelatihan metode pengajaran, materi pengajaran, dan melakukan penelitian.

Menteri Pendidikan Nasional Bambang Sudibyo menilai perlu ada kebijakan yang mendorong guru dan dosen untuk mengembangkan diri dengan melakukan penelitian. ”Pelan-pelan dirumuskan sambil menunggu proses sertifikasi selesai,” kata Bambang Sudibyo seusai meresmikan perluasan perpustakaan Departemen Pendidikan Nasional, Kamis (8/10).

Ketua Pengurus Besar Persatuan Guru Republik Indonesia (PGRI) Unifah Rosyidi, Jumat (9/10), mengingatkan perlunya pengawasan kinerja guru.

”Peningkatan mutu dan profesionalisme guru tidak boleh berhenti pada program sertifikasi. Kepala sekolah juga bisa memperketat rekomendasi kenaikan pangkat jika kinerja guru tidak maksimal,” katanya.

Perlu dorongan

Rektor Universitas Indonesia Prof Dr Gumilar Rusliwa Somantri mengingatkan komitmen meningkatkan kualitas guru tidak bisa hanya mengandalkan tekad pribadi saja, tetapi juga perlu ada dorongan dari sekolah dan pemerintah.

”Sertifikasi itu tidak cukup hanya tes evaluasi, tetapi tetap harus ada pelatihan rutin sehingga akan terlihat kekuatan dan kelemahan masing-masing,” ujar Gumilar.

Gumilar mengusulkan ada semacam pemberian penghargaan dan sanksi hukuman (reward and punishment) yang jelas terhadap guru. Secara bertahap guru diawasi oleh kepala sekolah dan kepala sekolah diawasi oleh pengawas sekolah.

Senior Consultant Putera Sampoerna School of Education, S Gopinathan, mengatakan, meningkatkan kualitas guru antara lain dengan menciptakan tradisi penelitian. Berbagai persoalan seputar pendidikan tidak kunjung jelas karena minimnya penelitian kependidikan. ”Selama ini sebagian besar tenaga pendidik hanya memusatkan perhatian pada peningkatan kemampuan mengajar saja,” ujarnya.

Padahal tenaga pendidik harus tahu masalah yang dihadapi anak didik. (LUK/ELN)

University of Indonesia Ranks 201 of World's 500 Best Universities

Excerpt:
The University of Indonesia (UI) is ranked 201 out of 500 world's best universities by Times Higher Education-QS World University Ranking or THESS this year, up 86 points from last year's 287. This new rank puts UI as one of the elite universities in Asia (rank 34) and one of the best universities in ASEAN (rank 5).

IEI - 9 October 2009

UI Capai Peringkat Ke-201 Dunia
Jumat, 9 Oktober 2009 | 04:18 WIB

Jakarta, Kompas - Lembaga pembuat peringkat perguruan tinggi (Times Higher Education-QS World University Ranking atau THESS) menyatakan bahwa Universitas Indonesia menduduki peringkat ke-201 dari 500 universitas terbaik di dunia.

”Ini pencapaian yang luar biasa. Pada tahun lalu UI berada di peringkat ke-287 dan tahun 2007 peringkat ke-395,” kata Rektor UI Prof Dr Gumilar Rusliwa Somantri, Kamis (8/10).

Dari hasil survei THESS terhadap 5.000 perguruan tinggi di dunia, berarti kini UI masuk dalam jajaran universitas elite di Asia (peringkat ke-34) dan ASEAN (peringkat ke-5). Penilaian THESS antara lain berdasarkan indikator performa dalam bidang riset dan publikasi, pengajaran, penginternasionalan, dan performa lulusan dalam kaitan dengan penyerapan tenaga kerja.

Seiring dengan naiknya peringkat UI, lanjut Gumilar, jumlah publikasi penelitian nasional dan internasional yang dilakukan peneliti UI naik dari 9.050 publikasi pada tahun 2008 menjadi 10.050 publikasi pada 2009. Pada kurun waktu yang sama jumlah peneliti UI naik dari 937 menjadi 1.005 peneliti. (LUK)

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Govt mulls over asking students to take more graduation exams

This article was originally published at The Jakarta Post.

Thu, 10/01/2009 11:31 AM | National

The government is considering whether to put in place more exams for students graduating from high and junior high schools, to assess their physical skills and behavior.

Secretary of the directorate general of elementary and secondary education at the National Education Ministry, Bambang Indriyanto, told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday that the ministry would test students across the country on subjects such as religion, sports and the arts, once the implementation of the national examinations ran smoothly.

"I hope we can do that in the next term," he said, referring to the next five-year period.

The 2005 regulation on national education standardization stipulates that five groups of subjects taught in school must be treated with the same level of importance when determining whether a student has passed the national exams.

The five groups are religion and morality, citizenship and character, science and technology, the arts, as well as sports and health.

So far, only subjects from the science and technology group are tested in the national exams.

Aside from Indonesian, mathematics and English exams taken in high school, junior high school students must also take a natural sciences exam.

Senior high students taking natural sciences classes are also required to pass physics, chemistry and biology exams. Those enrolled in social sciences classes must take economy, sociology and geography exams.

Experts have long criticized the concept and implementation of the national exams, saying it only assesses students' cognitive skills.

National education should not only shape students into knowledgeable individuals, but it should also give them a broad sets of soft skills and a good character, experts argue.

Noted education expert Arief Rachman said the country still needed a national exam. However, the government "had been mistaken in determining the passing criteria", he added. "They should not set the same minimum score for every school in the country. Every school has its own strengths and the government should take into consideration students' varying levels across schools in different regions."

The national exams require all students score an average of 5.5 to graduate.

He said forcing students to pass with a certain score only led them to cheat.

"But if their assessment was based on an average score in their own regions, we could minimize the cheating," he said.

Arief added that the national exams should never be used as a means to determine a school's level and quality.

The ministry, Bambang said, was using students' scores in the national exams to assess the quality of the schools across the country.

"We classify them according to their quality," he added.

The schools, he said, will be categorized into three levels: minimum service standard schools, national standard schools and international standard schools. (adh)

Larger education spending increases corruption: ICW

The Jakarta Post | Mon, 09/14/2009 10:19 AM | National

On Friday, the Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) reported 142 graft cases, which allegedly took place at various institutions within the national education sector between 2004 and 2008, to the KPK for further monitoring and investigation.

“We want the [Corruption Eradication Commission] to monitor graft cases being tried at district courts and the legal processing of many cases that has remained stagnant, and also to investigate many cases in regions that have gained little attention from the general public,” ICW researcher Febri Hendri said after handing over a report on the 142 cases to the commission.

The cases were worth a total of Rp 243 billion and implicated 287 individuals, mostly public officials and school principals, Febri said. He cited numerous forms of graft in the sector such as the imposition of illegal fees, school construction projects markups, bribes to teachers and school principals.

Febri also urged the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and students’ parents to play more active roles in fighting increasing corruption in the education sector, in line with the recent increases to education spending.

Education is a large and important sector that the general public should monitor, he said, adding that the education sector had become a fertile ground for corruption since it was allocated a larger budget by the state government.

“Power abuses have been rampant not only at the National Education Ministry but also in provincial and regency/municipal administrations under regional autonomy,” Febri said.

Numerous power abuses and graft cases had remained unexposed because law enforcers and relevant stake holders had not paid enough attention to the sector, Febri said.

Separately Lody Paat, the coordinator of the Education Coalition, said the KPK could help reduce corruption by putting corruptors behind bars.

However, only transparent processes in designing budgets and keeping accounts open to inspections by students’ parents could really prevent power abuses and red tape in the sector, Lody said.

“I believe parents, teachers, principals, and other stakeholders must make budget plans together for schools and supervise implementation. They should be able to take part in educational budget planning from national to local levels,” he said.

The coalition had carried out several pilot projects in Garut and Tangerang to teach parents how to make and scrutinize schools’ budgets and accounts, Lody said.

Since 2003, the National Education Ministry has proclaimed school-based management that theoretically allows anyone to acquire schools’ budget reports, Febri said. “But, if you try to get these reports, many schools will not hand over this information,” he said.

Under school-based management, school committees, which include students’ parents and school staff, should plan for and scrutinize schools’ budget spending.

However, in most cases committees had not managed their education budgets effectively since most parents did not know how to scrutinize schools’ budget reports, said Jumono from the Students’ Parents Alliance for Education. (mrs)

Primary students lack interest in natural sciences

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Thu, 08/06/2009 11:22 AM | National

Eleven-year-old Ghina Ramadhani delighted in an experimental display at a science exhibition in Jakarta on Wednesday, jumping on and off a mat wired to a showerhead, turning it on and off in the process.

However, the sixth grader from a school in Tangerang, Banten, maintained that she did not “have much interest in the natural sciences”.

“I’m not that keen on studying nature; I get goose bumps whenever I see organs or bugs.”
She prefers the more “daunting” subjects, such as mathematics, because it “requires me to wrack my brains, which is fun”.

Ghina says she loves puzzles, and loves solving them even more. The natural sciences, she says, are less puzzling than mathematics.

The National Education Ministry has become concerned in recent years by the fact that fewer people are taking their university degrees in natural sciences, making it harder for Indonesia to compete globally in agriculture and other related sectors and raising concerns over the absence of competent people to maintain the country’s natural resources.

It seems, however, that the lack of interest in studying natural sciences actually starts early on. Ghina is not the only primary student to find little challenge in the natural sciences.

Steven Kasemetan from a school in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, says he dislikes the subject because “all I have to do is read the books and memorise them”.

“It’s no fun,” the sixth grader says, adding his school rarely allowed the students to experiment.

Slamet, a teacher from state elementary school SDN Menteng 02, said students were easily bored if the teachers were only giving them theories without showing them how the theories apply in their daily lives.

“When students can associate, for example, how water flows with their daily showers, they will understand better and faster,” he told The Jakarta Post.

The problem with teaching natural sciences these days, Slamet said, was that it included little creativity.

Teachers, he added, sometimes failed to provide a way for their students to see the fun side of the subject, whether by engaging them in experiments or playing games.

During his 12 years of teaching not only has he employed those two methods, but he also lets his students conduct small research projects.

Moreover, his method includes an interactive computer-based program that allows students to learn their lessons while playing games.

“Some of my students also build their own experiments using used materials,” said Slamet, who is also a counselor for his fellow teachers in the natural sciences.

He added he would also take his students on walks around the school complex, which has around 7,000 different kinds of plants growing.

On Wednesday, his school’s booth was rated the best, based on its creativity, display and interactivity, by a panel of judges at the exhibition“If the teachers are creative, the students will be too,” he said. (adh)

Govt to attract students to natural sciences

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Tue, 08/04/2009 10:47 AM | National

With fewer and fewer people taking university degrees in the natural sciences, the national Education Ministry is working on ways to attract more students.

“High school graduates today are not interested in studying agriculture, animal husbandry or fishery; these majors are not popular anymore,” a senior official at the Education Ministry, Hendarman, told a discussion recently.

Some universities, he added, had even had to close their agriculture courses because not a single student wanted to take them.

The phenomenon, he said, was ironic, considering Indonesia was an agricultural country.

Academic director at the directorate general of higher education, Illah Sailah, said Monday the declining trend in people applying to major in the natural sciences had actually started in 2004.

“It will be our country’s loss if no one studies these subjects. Who will manage our natural resources then?” she said.

To address the problem, the ministry is looking at ways to attract more students to study agriculture.

“Perhaps by changing the name of the subject into something more interesting,” Hendarman said, adding that “agribusiness classes” have more participants, although they are not that different from agriculture classes.

Soil Science, Agriculture, Cultivation, and Pest and Disease majors are merged into the category of agrotechnology while Agriculture, Social Economics, and Communication and Counselingclasses are combined into the agribusiness course.

“By doing this, we aim to achieve different learning outcomes; we want graduates with general skills that are comprehensive, and not the specific skills regular agriculture classes offer now,” Illah told The
Jakarta Post.

“Besides, industry requires graduates to have the skills to manage everything, from upstream to downstream, so we are trying to respond to the market’s signals,” she said.

Hendarman said a lot of agriculture or fishery graduates do not work in their specific fields of knowledge.

“Rather, most of them are now working as employees in banks, or as journalists, or in other fields,” he said, adding that Indonesia still has a high unemployment rate.

The country is seeing an increase in the number of people who have university diplomas but
are unemployed. In 2008 the number increased by 42 percent to 1 million compared with the figure for 2005.

Illah said that the ministry was also revitalizing the agricultural courses.

“We started giving grants to 29 universities this year so they can renew or add to their educational resources and equipment,” she said, adding that each university receives between Rp 400 million (US$40,400) to Rp 900 million.

Rector of the University of Indonesia Gumilar Rusliwa Somantri said his university has also seen a decline in the number of applicants for natural science majors, however he had another way to attract
students.

“We try to entice them by offering scholarship opportunities,” he said, without going into detail as to the number of scholars the university had accepted. (adh)

IPB's corn noodles win int'l contest

Novia D. Rulistia , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Sun, 07/19/2009 11:27 AM | Discover

Students of the Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB) started producing instant corn noodle to alleviate malnutrition-related health problems and the product won the international food technology contest.

Galih Nugroho, Ari Try Purbayanto, Riza Aris Apriady, Kamalita Pertiwi and Catherine Haryasyah produced instant corn noodle which has been fortified with various microorganism.

They presented their 6-page paper on the innovation at the IFP Annual Meeting and Food Expo organized by the Institute of Technologists in the United States. Their innovation ranked third in the competition, after the Netherlands and South Africa.

"We're so excited. It's a tough competition but we know we were ready to compete and we knew we could compete as we've prepared at our utmost," Galih said.

"We have done some research about many health problems in Southeast Asia countries and we found that there are still many cases about food nutrition deficiency. So we decided to take this as our case," said the eight semester student at IPB's food technology study.

To make it more specific, he said, the group focused on food nutrition deficiency in pregnant women as most cases were found in them.

"They are the medium to carry the micro nutrition for their future babies," he said.

Through the product, Galih said, the mothers-to-be could consume a lot of nutrition up to three times a week which were important during pregnancy.

Corn noodle was first brought on to research table in 1998 with several researchers from IPB involved in the project.

To make the noodle, the team use corn flour and mixed it with protein-fortified egg flour and add to it several nutrition. Next, the dough is undergoing an extrusion process, a process to create a certain texture by pressing all materials.

The production takes around one-and-a-half to two hours.

"The process is not that hard, the ingredients are affordable so that the price of the noodle is also affordable," said Galih, adding that its economical side was one of the reasons they won the contest.

The other considerations were because they make the full use of local resources, the technology can be easily used by people, and of their free-preservative but full of protein product.

Although the five have got international acknowledgement for the innovation, further research is still needed to optimize the instant corn noodle before it hits the market.

"We hope with this, the death of pregnant women suffering from malnutrition can be decreasing."

Minister of Agriculture Anton Apriyantono said during a recent ceremony to honor the achievement that the government was encouraging industry players to adopt the new technology so that the product could be soon available in the community.

Schools forbidden from seeking fees

Khairul Saleh , The Jakarta Post , Palembang | Wed, 07/01/2009 12:14 PM | The Archipelago

South Sumatra Governor Alex Noerdin issued a stern warning Tuesday to schools to not demand school admission fees under any circumstances, once the free education program comes into effect in the coming school year.

"We will meet out punitive and administrative sanctions on schools that breach the rule, particularly those demanding fees from new students for no clear reasons," Alex said. "Schools will only be allowed to charge fees that are effectively contributions, but should discuss the matter with parents and get their prior consent."

He added thorough understanding and full support from all regencies and municipalities were essential to facilitating and implementing the free education program.

To educate the public on the free education concept, the governor's office will conduct routine evaluations of the implementation of the program, as well as of the free healthcare program, in 15 regencies and municipalities in South Sumatra.

Alex said lack of understanding on the part of the public, as well as by regency and municipal administrations over the free education program could raise differing perceptions and interpretations.

The program is not intended to lower the education standard, as critics have claimed, but to further improve education quality through continuous supervision, according to the governor, with program implementers required to stick to the existing guidelines.

Armansyah, 35, a resident of Sukabangun district in the provincial capital Palembang, expressed doubt that the program could be implemented effectively, adding the junior high school where he planned to enroll his child would still demand an enrollment fee.

"The amount is still unclear, but a number of parents have raised the issue that they were charged these fees," said Armansyah, a trader at a traditional market in the city.

"We're afraid the program will not run effectively, due to these demands for payment."

Maryati, a resident of Demang Lebar Daun, also in Palembang, concurred, saying her two children had registered at a senior high school the previous week, and several parents had also complained about the existing enrollment fees. "The fees are still there, though it's not ethical to mention the amount," she said.

The provincial administration has set allocated Rp 188 billion (US$1.8 million) to be spent on 1,680,165 students in private and state schools, from the elementary to senior high levels, in the province's 15 regencies and municipalities.

Only national standard (SSN) and international standard preparatory (RSBI) schools are allowed to ask for school fees and payments for other expenses.

The monthly financial aid per student will be Rp 10,000 for a elementary school students, Rp 15,000 for a junior high school student, Rp 80,000 for a senior high school student, and Rp 90,000 for a vocational school student.

The South Sumatra administration has issued a bylaw earlier this year on the implementation and service of the free education program, and applied it across South Sumatra.

MASTERY OF ENGLISH in all subjects essential for teachers, students

Novia D. Rulistia , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Sun, 06/21/2009 1:18 PM | Discover

Nowadays, a lot of people in Indonesia are able to speak English at a basic conversational level. But when it comes to more specific issues, let's say science or IT, more work is needed.

Chrisitian Duncamb, director of English and Education Reform at the British Council, said recently that as the world becomes increasingly interrelated, mastery of English in specific contexts, such as that used for conducting research or business, is crucial.

He said that ensuring teachers of subjects other than English have an adequate proficiency in English is important for the realization of the government's policy on English Bilingual Education (EBE), which aims to see at least one international-standard school in every province, at which many classes are taught in English.

Since 2006, 112 schools have applied the EBE.

"A teacher is one of the most important key players in shaping a student's mind, especially those in the early stages of education. So there should be a guarantee that teachers have first mastered English so they can convey the message correctly," British Council education advisor Itje Chodidjah said on the sidelines of a recent symposium on bilingual education.

Based on her experience as a trainer, it takes at least two years before a teacher can really teach in English.

In addition, she said, the government should also assess teachers in order to gain a complete picture of their ability, including their knowledge of the content to be taught and their mastery of English.

"The ministry's Education Excellence Institute (LPMP), which has trainers in all of its chapters, can do this assessment," she said, adding that the trainers must first undergo training themselves. "This is where the British Council comes in."

The British Council has been cooperating with LPMP to train English teachers in several primary schools.

However, Itje is not yet sure when the training for trainers will be conducted as the thorough plan is still being deliberated. But several areas of focus have been identified including pedagogical ability, language level of teachers and learners and knowledge of the materials.

Director general of primary and secondary education at the ministry, Suyanto, said that although the policy had not progressed much, the government would continue to work on it and support schools in need of help.

As part of a similar effort, the Cultural and Language Faculty of the University of Indonesia (UI) also recently held training sessions for English teachers from 25 high schools in Depok, West Java.

Indah Welasasih Ludji, the coordinator of the English writing workshop, said that the training was held to help students prepare for English writing tasks in college as well as to prepare the teachers themselves so that they may comply with the government's policy on international standard schools.

"Many students may be able to speak English fluently, but not all of them know how to write scientific papers, or even write at all in English. And that often happens here," she said, adding that the training covered how to write functional and narrative prose as well as essays.

"In the future, we hope we can reach other schools outside Depok."

Minimum Wage for Teachers Will Be Regulated

Upah Minimum Guru Diatur
Banyak yang Tak Sanggup Beli Buku
Kamis, 7 Mei 2009 | 03:20 WIB

Jakarta, Kompas - Ratusan ribu guru honor atau wiyata bakti baik di sekolah negeri maupun swasta masih belum memperoleh jaminan kesejahteraan yang layak. Oleh karena itu, sedang diupayakan agar terdapat aturan mengenai upah minimum pendidik.

Pemerintah tengah pula menyusun Rancangan Peraturan Pemerintah (RPP) tentang Guru Non-PNS.

Ketua Umum Persatuan Guru Republik Indonesia (PGRI) Sulistyo, Rabu (6/5), mengatakan, organisasi pimpinannya telah mengusulkan agar terdapat subsidi dari anggaran negara untuk guru wiyata bakti. Saat ini terdapat 922.000 guru wiyata bakti se-Indonesia.

Para guru tersebut banyak yang memperoleh imbalan di bawah upah minimum regional untuk buruh yang ditetapkan pemerintah kota atau kabupaten. ”Mereka mengalami pelecehan profesi guru karena dibayar dengan tidak wajar selama puluhan tahun,” ujarnya.

Guru-guru honor, terutama di sekolah swasta, di sejumlah daerah banyak yang dibayar sekitar Rp 200.000 hingga Rp 250.000 per bulan dan tanpa tunjangan lainnya. Padahal, upah untuk pekerja lain rata-rata sudah di atas Rp 700.000, bahkan banyak yang di atas Rp 900.000 per bulan.

”Kami sudah mengirimkan surat pada 12 Februari 2009 ke Presiden RI dengan tembusan ke Menteri Keuangan, Menteri Pendidikan Nasional, Menteri Negara Pendayagunaan Aparatur Negara, dan Menteri Sekretaris Negara agar ditentukan standar upah minimal pendidikan. Besarannya harus di atas upah minimum regional buruh pabrik,” kata Sulistyo.

Terlebih lagi, tidak seperti buruh pabrik, guru sekarang diharuskan minimal berpendidikan S-1 atau D-4. Persoalan kesejahteraan guru ini memengaruhi pula minat masyarakat terhadap profesi guru.

Sulistyo juga menyambut baik RPP tentang Guru Non-PNS yang tengah diupayakan pemerintah.

Dengan adanya perbaikan kesejahteraan, minat menjadi PNS juga berkurang.

RPP Guru Non-PNS

Dirjen Peningkatan Mutu Pendidik Tenaga Kependidikan Depdiknas Baedhowi mengatakan, Depdiknas mengajukan RPP Guru Non-PNS terutama untuk mengatur agar pengangkatan guru non-PNS lebih manusiawi. Hal itu diungkapkannya di sela-sela Pertemuan Koordinasi Asosiasi Lembaga Pendidik Tenaga Kependidikan (LPTK) Swasta Seluruh Indonesia.

”Termasuk juga nanti akan diatur gaji minimal yang harus dipenuhi sekolah atau penyelenggara pendidikan. Tidak seperti sekarang, banyak guru swasta yang hanya mendapat gaji ’belas kasihan’,” katanya.

Menurut Baedhowi, RPP tentang Guru Non-PNS masih terus dibahas, antara lain dengan Kantor Menneg PAN. ”Kami ingin guru Non-PNS pun punya kepastian dalam sistem pengangkatan, penggajian, serta hak dan kewajibannya,” ujarnya.

Ketua Serikat Guru Jakarta sekaligus Ketua Forum Guru Honorer Indonesia Supriyono menambahkan, guru membutuhkan biaya untuk menunjang kebutuhan hidup sehari-hari dan kebutuhan profesionalnya. ”Sudah seharusnya guru dapat berlangganan koran, internet, dan membeli buku paling tidak satu bulan satu judul buku,” ujarnya.

Dengan demikian, ilmu pengetahuan guru terus berkembang sehingga para murid mendapatkan pengajaran yang baik. ”Sekarang ini mutu pendidikan merosot antara lain karena guru tidak punya kemampuan finansial mengikuti perkembangan ilmu pengetahuan. (INE/ELN)

BSNP (National Educational Standardization Board) Admits Frauds in National Examination

BSNP Akui Ada Kecurangan UN
UN SLTP Susulan Sedikit Peserta
Selasa, 5 Mei 2009 | 04:03 WIB

Jakarta, Kompas - Badan Standar Nasional Pendidikan dan Departemen Pendidikan Nasional mengakui ujian nasional masih memunculkan kecurangan-kecurangan yang dilakukan siswa, guru, sekolah, hingga aparat dinas pendidikan di daerah. Namun secara umum, pelaksanaan ujian nasional semakin baik.

”Permasalahan yang muncul di lapangan itu tentu saja ditindaklanjuti sesuai prosedur yang berlaku. Setelah itu, perlu ada antisipasi untuk perbaikan UN berikutnya,” kata

Mungin Eddy Wibowo, Kepala Badan Standar Nasional Pendidikan (BSNP), dalam keterangan pers soal evaluasi pelaksanaan UN SMP-SMA di Jakarta, Senin (4/5).

Amin Priyatna, Inspektur IV Inspektorat Jenderal Depdiknas, mengatakan, kecurangan UN pada tahun ini berkurang ketimbang dua tahun lalu. Pada tahun ini, kasus yang mencuat adalah percobaan pembocoran soal yang dilakukan sejumlah kepala sekolah di Kabupaten Bengkulu Selatan. Pada tahun 2008, kecurangan UN yang ditangani serius Itjen Depdiknas tersebar di tujuh provinsi dan tahun 2007 sekitar 12 provinsi.

Amin mengatakan, temuan- temuan seputar penyelenggaraan UN itu didapat dari media massa maupun pengaduan yang masuk dari masyarakat. ”Ada 36 catatan yang perlu ditindaklanjuti soal pelaksanaan UN. Itjen menurunkan 300 auditor di 33 provinsi untuk bisa memantau penyelenggaraan UN. Dari temuan, secara umum pelaksanaan UN sudah baik,” kata Amin.

Mungin mengatakan, berdasarkan catatan BSNP dan Depdiknas, persoalan yang terus berulang adalah pelanggaran terhadap prosedur operasional standar (POS) UN. Pelanggaran itu, misalnya, ketidakberesan dalam pencetakan dan pendistribusian naskah UN hingga buruknya kualitas cetakan naskah soal, siswa membawa handphone ke ruang ujian, dan lain-lain.

Tak ikut UN susulan

Secara terpisah, di Kota Tegal, Jawa Tengah, banyak siswa tidak memanfaatkan kesempatan mengikuti UN susulan. Diduga ketidakikutan siswa tersebut karena mereka sudah bekerja.

”Dari 29 siswa SLTP yang tidak hadir pada UN hari pertama pekan lalu, hanya lima siswa yang memanfaatkan UN susulan,” kata Kepala Bidang Pendidikan Dasar, Dinas Pendidikan Kota Tegal, Abdullahmin Arifin.

Di Semarang, UN susulan SMP sederajat pada hari Senin kemarin juga hanya diikuti 16 siswa dari 72 siswa yang seharusnya ikut.

Penyelenggaraan UN susulan di Kota Semarang dipusatkan di SMP Negeri 5. Terdapat empat kelas yang telah disiapkan, tetapi hanya satu kelas yang akhirnya digunakan oleh 16 siswa SMP dan madrasah tsanawiyah.(ELN/ WIE/ILO)

Corruption Threatens Education Development

LAYANAN PENDIDIKAN
Korupsi Mengancam Pembangunan Pendidikan
Selasa, 5 Mei 2009 | 04:56 WIB


Jakarta, Kompas - Korupsi di dunia pendidikan mengancam pembangunan pendidikan. Kenaikan anggaran pendidikan yang diperjuangkan dengan susah payah perlu disertai pengawasan publik.

Kondisi tersebut antara lain tercermin dalam kajian yang dilakukan Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) dan Pusat Telaah dan Informasi Regional (Pattiro) dan disampaikan dalam jumpa pers, Senin (4/5). Chitra Septyandrica, peneliti dan Program Manager Pattiro, mengatakan, masih terjadi penyimpangan anggaran pendidikan. Pattiro bersama bersama Brooking Institution dari Amerika meneliti 137 proyek sebagai percontohan di Kabupaten Gresik, Jawa Timur, dan Kabupaten Serang, Banten, pada tahun 2008. Penelitian terhadap 30 sekolah negeri dan 10 sekolah swasta jenjang SD dan SMP.

Hasil penelitian menunjukkan terdapat tujuh pola penyimpangan yang terjadi, yakni pengucuran dana tidak sesuai kebutuhan sekolah, keterlambatan pencairan, penyimpangan cara penyaluran, potongan tidak wajar, belanja tidak sesuai peruntukan, pengurangan hasil, serta kebocoran dalam alokasi, penggunaan dan audit dana.

Skema penyaluran anggaran ke sekolah juga rumit dan setiap skema mempunyai aturannya masing-masing. Selain itu, transparansi anggaran sangat rendah.

Gambaran karut marutnya pengelolaan anggaran pendidikan disampaikan pula oleh Febri Hendri, peneliti dari ICW. Lembaga tersebut mengambil contoh kasus-kasus korupsi anggaran pendidikan di delapan provinsi, yakni Banten, Jawa Barat, DKI Jakarta, Sumatera Barat, Jawa Tengah, Nusa Tenggara Barat, Nusa Tenggara Timur, serta Sulawesi Tengah sepanjang tahun 2007 dan 2008.

Terdapat 36 kasus di daerah-daerah tersebut yang sampai di tingkat kejaksaan dan melibatkan 63 orang tersangka. Tersangka terbanyak yakni sebanyak 14 orang ialah pejabat di dinas pendidikan. Pelaku selebihnya antara lain staf pemerintah daerah, pimpinan proyek, dan kepala sekolah.

Febri mengatakan, modus yang paling banyak ialah penggelembungan, penggelapan, dan manipulasi anggaran. Namun, ada pula modus penyuapan dan pungutan liar, terutama berkaitan dengan kewenangan pencairan anggaran. Modus paling banyak menimbulkan kerugian negara ialah manipulasi anggaran dengan kerugian sekitar Rp 110,7 miliar. (INE)

National Examination Not The Standard for Success in Education

UN bukan Ukuran Keberhasilan Pendidikan
Prof. Sunaryo, "Fenomena UN Gambaran Kepanikan"

Ujian Nasional (UN) cenderung dipahami secara salah oleh para orang tua, kepala sekolah, dan pihak yang terkait dengan penyelenggaraan pendidikan. Hal ini termanifestasikan dari banyaknya orang yang berlomba-lomba mengondisikan anaknya atau siswa sekolah agar meraih nilai bagus dalam UN. Padahal sesungguhnya nilai bagus dalam UN bukanlah jaminan yang layak dijadikan ukuran bagi keberhasilan pendidikan.

Hal itu dikemukakan Rektor UPI, Prof. Dr. Sunaryo Kartadinata, M.Pd. di Rektorat UPI Jln. Dr. Setiabudhi No. 229 Bandung, kemarin. Dalam keterangannya yang didampingi Sekretaris Rektorat UPI, Dr. Uman Suherman, M.Pd. itu, Sunaryo berpandangan saat ini terjadi "salah persepsi" secara nasional terhadap kegiatan UN.

"Akibat salah persepsi itu, maka target UN pun menjadi beban para siswa, guru, dan kepala sekolah. Tingkat kelulusan dan nilai bagus UN seolah-olah cerminan kinerja pimpinan sekolah yang baik. Padahal bagus atau tidaknya kepimpinan sekolah tidak hanya itu," kata Sunaryo.

Sunaryo mengemukakan, fenomena UN adalah gambaran kepanikan para kepala sekolah dan guru serta pihak terkait lainnya. Ini tercermin dari adanya berbagai upaya agar siswanya meraih nilai bagus dalam UN. Jika nilainya bagus, maka diharapkan ada penilaian bagus pula dari atasannya. "Seandainya penyelenggaraan pendidikan khususnya pola UN masih seperti ini, kita pesimistis terhadap kemajuan program pendidikan nasional," katanya.

Kebijakan makro
Ketua Umum Federasi Guru Independen Indonesia (FGII) Suparman menilai berbagai pelanggaran termasuk kecurangan yang dilakukan oknum guru berawal dari kebijakan makro yang keliru. Sebab pemerintah hanya melihat mutu pendidikan dari mutu lulusan. "Karena UN menjadi penentu kelulusan akhirnya menjadi momok bagi guru, siswa, dan juga birokrat. Sehingga mau tidak mau UN ini selalu dikaitkan dengan politik kekuasaan," ungkapnya.

Di sisi lain, meski ujian nasional (UN) sekolah menengah atas/madrasah aliah (SMA/MA) dan sekolah menengah kejuruan (SMK) telah berlangsung selama tiga hari, masih ada perwakilan perguruan tinggi yang mengaku bertugas sebagai pemantau, bukan pengawas di SMA/MA.

Erwin Panji yang bertugas di SMA Dharma Bakti Bandung (bergabung dengan SMA Pasundan 3 Bandung) mengatakan, operasional pengawasan sepenuhnya diserahkan kepada para guru. Ketua Tim Pemantau Independen (TPI) dan Koordinator Pengawas UN SMA/MA Jabar dari UPI Yayat Achdiat menuturkan, pihaknya sudah menyiapkan pengganti mereka yang bertugas di SMA/MA tetapi SK-nya masih sebagai pemantau. (A-44/A-157/A-167)***

Sumber: Pikiran Rakyat, 23 April 2009

Blinds Have Difficulties with Math Questions

Soal Matematika Sulitkan Tunanetra
Kamis, 23 April 2009 | 04:40 WIB

YOGYAKARTA, KOMPAS - Soal ujian nasional Matematika yang berlangsung Rabu (22/4) menyulitkan pelajar tunanetra. Selain terdapat kesalahan, soal juga menggunakan simbol-simbol matematika yang tidak mereka kenal dalam versi huruf Braille. Guru pendamping pun mengalami kesulitan untuk menerjemahkan karena simbol- simbol itu hanya dikenal di bidang Matematika.

Salah satu dari enam peserta ujian nasional (UN) tunanetra dari kelas IPS di MAN Maguwoharjo, Sleman, Wido Yufri Ashar (19), mengatakan, sejumlah simbol yang sulit dikenal tersebut antara lain negasi dan konjungsi. Simbol-simbol itu biasanya hanya mereka kenal dalam bentuk aksara Latin atau mereka dengar dari pengajar matematika.

”Kami belum pernah tahu bentuknya dalam Braille. Seharusnya simbol-simbol itu diterjemahkan dalam aksara Latin sesuai bunyinya saja,” kata Wido di Sleman, Rabu.

Guru matematika yang diminta pendapatnya tidak bisa datang ke sekolah karena adanya aturan bahwa guru mata pelajaran yang tengah diujikan dilarang berada di sekolah. ”Akhirnya, kami menghubungi guru agama yang kebetulan tahu arti simbol-simbol itu,” kata Mardinah, guru pembimbing anak berkebutuhan khusus di MAN Maguwoharjo.

Di Yogyakarta, UN SMA/SMK tahun ini diikuti oleh 53 pelajar tunanetra. Mereka terdiri dari sembilan pelajar inklusi di sekolah umum dan 44 pelajar di SMA luar biasa.

Kesalahan cetak
Di Kabupaten Ende, Flores, pada hari ketiga pelaksanaan UN kemarin ditemukan sejumlah kesalahan cetak pada soal Matematika paket B jurusan IPA.

”Kesalahan ini dimungkinkan pada master soal yang dibuat pusat atau di tingkat percetakan. Kami sudah membuat berita acara menyangkut hal ini untuk dikirimkan ke Dinas Pendidikan Pemuda dan Olahraga di Ende agar siswa tidak menjadi korban,” kata Kepala SMA Katolik Syuradikara Pater Kanisius Bhila SVD.

Sehari sebelumnya, dalam soal Bahasa Inggris juga terjadi kesalahan soal seperti yang dialami siswa di Semarang dan Salatiga, Jawa Tengah. Siswa minta soal itu dianulir, tetapi sekolah menyatakan tidak berwenang. (IRE/SEM/DEN/GAL)

Education Budget Down by IDR 11.7 Trillion

Anggaran Pendidikan Turun Rp 11,7 Triliun
Kamis, 23 April 2009 03:56 WIB

Jakarta, Kompas - Anggaran pendidikan tahun 2010 ditargetkan senilai Rp 195,636 triliun atau berkurang Rp 11,77 triliun dibandingkan tahun 2009 sebesar Rp 207,413 triliun. Meski terjadi penurunan, hal itu masih sesuai konstitusi yang mengharuskan 20 persen APBN untuk pendidikan.

Menteri Keuangan sekaligus Pelaksana Jabatan Menko Perekonomian Sri Mulyani Indrawati mengatakan hal tersebut Rabu (22/4) dalam Rapat Koordinasi Pembangunan Tingkat Pusat 2009 dalam Rangka Penyusunan Rencana Kerja Pemerintah (RKP) Tahun 2010 yang difokuskan pada Pemulihan Perekonomian Nasional dan Pemeliharaan Kesejahteraan Rakyat.

Dengan anggaran Rp 195,636 triliun tersebut, anggaran pendidikan tahun 2010 akan setara dengan 20,6 persen dari total anggaran belanja negara pada Rancangan APBN (RAPBN) 2010. Adapun tahun 2009 anggaran pendidikan 21 persen dari APBN.
Anggaran pendidikan Rp 195,63 triliun tersebut sudah termasuk dana pendidikan yang ditransfer ke daerah senilai Rp 113,109 triliun atau berkurang dibanding tahun 2009 yang dialokasikan sebesar Rp 117,862 triliun.

Menurut Sri Mulyani, penetapan anggaran pendidikan yang sangat besar bisa membuat aparat pemerintah pusat dan daerah yang mengelola sektor pendidikan menjadi bermalas-malasan, tidak kreatif, dan kurang menghasilkan program yang inovatif. Padahal semakin besar anggaran yang dipercayakan pada departemen atau daerah menuntut tanggung jawab moral yang semakin tinggi.

”Besarnya anggaran pendidikan bisa membuat pejabat di Departemen Pendidikan Nasional dan Departemen Agama ongkang-ongkang kaki. Sebab, tanpa berpikir keras pun uang pasti datang karena siapa pun presidennya tidak akan ada yang berani menolak konstitusi,” ujar Sri Mulyani.

Perlu dicermati
Sri Mulyani mengatakan, tingginya aliran dana pendidikan ke daerah juga perlu dicermati secara lebih serius oleh aparat di daerah. Adanya dana alokasi khusus (DAK) pendidikan yang digunakan untuk peningkatan kondisi fisik dan fasilitas sekolah, menurut Sri Mulyani, mestinya seluruh kondisi fisik sekolah di Tanah Air memadai.

”Setelah DAK pendidikan dinaikkan, jangan sampai ada media massa yang masih menemukan foto sekolah yang rusak. Seharusnya itu tidak boleh terjadi lagi,” tuturnya.

Dilanjutkan
Sementara itu, Menteri Negara Perencanaan Pembangunan Nasional (PPN)/Kepala Bappenas Paskah Suzetta menegaskan, seluruh program jaring pengaman sosial tetap akan dilaksanakan pada tahun 2010, termasuk bantuan operasional sekolah (BOS). Meski demikian, pemerintah belum menentukan besarnya anggaran yang akan dialokasikan pada program tersebut.

”Kondisi perekonomian belum sepenuhnya membaik sehingga seluruh program jaring pengaman sosial akan tetap akan dilaksanakan pada tahun 2010, baik BOS, Jamkesmas (Jaminan Kesehatan Masyarakat), juga PNPM (Program Nasional Pemberdayaan Masyarakat),” ujar Paskah. (OIN)

Brain Drain Bad for The Nation

"Brain Drain" Rugikan Bangsa
Rabu, 22 April 2009 | 03:48 WIB

Jakarta, Kompas - Eksodus anak-anak berprestasi ke luar negeri, atau ada yang menyebutnya brain drain, merugikan bangsa. Indonesia kehilangan sumber daya manusia berkualitas yang bisa dimanfaatkan untuk pembangunan.

Sebelumnya diberitakan, ratusan siswa Indonesia berprestasi diincar universitas publik di Singapura yang agresif mempromosikan diri dan mencari anak- anak brilian di Indonesia. Para siswa itu diberikan kemudahan pembiayaan mulai dari subsidi Pemerintah Singapura (tuition grant) dengan ikatan kerja tiga tahun, beasiswa (biaya hidup, buku, komputer dan uang saku), serta pinjaman bank yang dibayarkan setelah lulus.

Pakar pendidikan, Prof Soedijarto, mengatakan, Selasa (21/4), migrasi anak cerdas tersebut berarti potensi mereka tidak dimanfaatkan di Indonesia. Permasalahan itu tidak selesai dengan upaya mempertahankan mereka di Tanah Air di tengah kondisi yang serba tidak menjanjikan.

”Anak-anak itu tidak dapat disalahkan. Permasalahannya lebih kompleks, belum terbangun iklim, tantangan, dan peluang. Salah satunya ialah suasana riset dan lapangan pekerja sesuai kelak. Iklim itu seharusnya dapat dibangun melalui pengembangan sistem pendidikan, riset, dan industri yang terarah serta visioner,” ujarnya.

Dunia riset di Indonesia sendiri belum diperhatikan. Di negara maju, seperti Amerika, anggaran riset 2,3 persen produk domestik bruto (PDB), sementara di Indonesia baru 0,05 persen tahun 2004. Pada tahun yang sama, anggaran riset Malaysia sudah 0,7 persen PDB. Kalaupun terjadi kenaikan tidak besar dan negara lain sudah jauh lebih besar lagi alokasi anggarannya. Singapura, Korea Selatan, dan Taiwan menjadi contoh negara yang maju dengan memperkuat infrastruktur teknologi.

Penghargaan minim

Menurut Soedijarto, penghargaan terhadap kaum intelektual masih minim. Soedijarto saat masih menjadi guru besar Universitas Negeri Jakarta dengan golongan tertinggi 4E enam bulan lalu menerima gaji sekitar Rp 4,2 juta per bulan. Dia sempat merasakan kenaikan kesejahteraan yakni tambahan sekitar Rp 3 juta per bulan selama enam bulan terakhir. Namun, itu pun masih relatif kecil dibandingkan dengan gaji guru besar di luar negeri, seperti di Malaysia yang besarnya Rp 42 juta per bulan. Penghargaan terhadap pekerja bidang pendidikan dan penelitian masih lebih kecil dibandingkan dengan politikus di DPR yang pendapatannya bisa mencapai Rp 42 juta per bulan.

Aktivis Koalisi Pendidikan, Lodi Paat, menambahkan, pembangunan pendidikan harus berbarengan dengan riset dan perekonomian, dalam hal ini industri. Mereka yang belajar di luar negeri dan pulang, tetapi tidak mendapatkan lapangan pekerjaan sesuai di Indonesia akan putus asa. Lodi mencontohkan, pada era Habibie banyak anak cerdas belajar di luar negeri untuk kedirgantaraan dan kemudian disiapkan suatu sistem berupa industri. Kini industri tidak digarap serius. (INE)

Irregularities Found in BOS (School Operational Assistance) Funding

Dana BOS Bermasalah
Rabu, 22 April 2009 | 03:50 WIB

Jakarta, Kompas - Badan Pemeriksa Keuangan melaporkan kepada DPR soal dana bantuan operasional sekolah dan dana pendidikan lainnya senilai Rp 1,56 triliun yang dinilai bermasalah. Salah satu yang dipermasalahkan adalah 2.592 sekolah penerima tidak melaporkan dana itu.

Bantuan operasional sekolah (BOS) dan dana pendidikan lainnya (DPL) yang diterima 2.592 sekolah itu tahun 2008 sebesar Rp 624,192 miliar, tetapi tidak dilaporkan sekolah sebagai bagian dari penerimaan dalam Rencana Anggaran dan Pendapatan Belanja Sekolah (RAPBS).

”Hal itu mengakibatkan akuntabilitas penerimaan sekolah atas berbagai sumber pembiayaan tidak transparan dan berpotensi disalahgunakan,” ujar Ketua BPK Anwar Nasution seusai Rapat Paripurna DPR yang mengagendakan Penyerahan Ikhtisar Hasil Pemeriksaan Semester II Tahun Anggaran 2008 di Jakarta, Selasa (21/4).

BPK menemukan dana BOS digunakan untuk membeli buku di luar jenis buku dalam petunjuk teknis senilai Rp 1,219 miliar. Akibatnya, sebagian buku tidak bisa dimanfaatkan. Pada saat yang sama, BPK juga menemukan ada sisa dana BOS dan pendapatan jasa giro senilai Rp 23,393 miliar yang tidak disetor kembali ke kas negara. Dana BOS juga digunakan untuk keperluan yang tidak sesuai dengan petunjuk teknis senilai Rp 28,4 miliar.

Temuan di daerah menunjukkan ada 47 sekolah dasar (SD) dan 123 sekolah menengah pertama (SMP) di 15 kabupaten atau kota yang belum membebaskan biaya pendidikan bagi siswa yang tidak mampu. ”Ini mengakibatkan tujuan program BOS untuk membebaskan biaya pendidikan bagi siswa yang tidak mampu menjadi tidak sepenuhnya tercapai,” kata Anwar.

Terlambat disalurkan

BPK juga melaporkan, penyaluran BOS di 32 provinsi mengalami keterlambatan sehingga dana operasional sekolah tidak tersedia tepat waktu. Akibatnya, beberapa sekolah terpaksa meminjam uang dari pihak lain untuk keperluan operasional sekolah sehingga memengaruhi proses belajar-mengajar.

Adapun di sisi DPL, BPK menemukan bahwa aset tetap di sekolah yang berasal dari sumber dana bantuan pemerintah pusat dan daerah senilai Rp 744,8 miliar tidak jelas status kepemilikan dan pengurusannya. Akibatnya, pemerintah daerah tidak bisa menganggarkan biaya pemeliharaan atas aset yang dikuasainya karena belum menjadi aset milik pemerintah daerah. Risikonya adalah bisa terjadi penyalahgunaan aset, seperti hilang atau dikuasai pihak lain.

Temuan menonjol lainnya yang dilaporkan terkait dengan dana alokasi khusus (DAK) bidang pendidikan. BPK melaporkan ada pelaksanaan pekerjaan yang dibiayai DAK tidak dilakukan secara swakelola dan malah diarahkan kepada rekanan tertentu senilai Rp 96,718 miliar. Selain itu, ada penitipan uang pajak DAK Rp 1,635 miliar tidak disetor ke kas negara dan digunakan untuk keperluan lain.

”BPK menyimpulkan bahwa secara umum pengendalian terhadap pengelolaan dan pertanggungjawaban dana BOS dan DPL telah memadai, tetapi masih perlu mendapat perhatian dari pemerintah khususnya terkait desain pengendalian dan pelaksanaannya,” kata Anwar. (OIN)

School Standard Improves with National Exit Exams

Standar Sekolah Naik
Dilarang Pungut Uang untuk Ujian Nasional
Jumat, 17 April 2009 | 03:53 WIB

Jakarta, Kompas - Beberapa sekolah negeri dan swasta unggulan di Jakarta menaikkan standar nilai kelulusan di atas standar nilai ujian nasional 5,5. Peninggian nilai kelulusan diizinkan oleh pemerintah pusat untuk memacu peningkatan kualitas pendidikan di sekolah masing-masing.

”Terdapat sekitar 50 SMA negeri dan swasta di Jakarta yang menargetkan nilai 6,0 sampai 7,0 untuk standar kelulusan siswa- siswi mereka,” kata Kepala Bidang Kurikulum Dinas Pendidikan DKI Jakarta Amsani Idris saat menyampaikan kesiapan pelaksanaan ujian nasional untuk SMA yang akan dimulai pekan depan, Kamis (16/4) di Jakarta Selatan.

Menurut Amsani, peninggian nilai kelulusan dapat dilakukan karena masih dalam lingkup sistem manajemen berbasis sekolah. Pengelola sekolah dapat meningkatkan standar nilai kelulusan jika para siswa dinilai mampu mencapainya.

Namun, kata Amsani, sekolah yang ingin menaikkan standar kelulusannya harus mengirimkan surat permohonan kepada Dinas Pendidikan dan meminta restu orangtua murid. Jangan sampai kebijakan sekolah untuk menaikkan standar kelulusan justru merugikan siswa dan diprotes orangtua.

Amsani mengatakan, sekolah- sekolah yang menaikkan standar kelulusan antara lain SMA 70, SMA 8, SMA 13, SMA 78, SMA 81, SMA 21, dan SMA 6. Sedangkan beberapa sekolah swasta di antaranya SMA Santa Ursula, SMA Al Azhar, SMA Lab School, dan SMA IPK Tomang.

Peningkatan standar nilai kelulusan, kata Amsani, dapat memacu persaingan prestasi yang positif di antara sekolah. Siswa juga akan terpacu untuk meningkatkan kemampuan dan penguasaan materi pelajaran.

Untuk mencapai target yang melebihi standar nasional, kata Amsani, sekolah dapat mengadakan pelajaran tambahan atau les intensif dan tes-tes uji coba.

Ujian nasional

Kepala Dinas Pendidikan DKI Jakarta Taufik Yudi Mulyanto mengatakan, ujian nasional akan digelar pada 20 hingga 24 April untuk tingkat SMA, SMK, madrasah aliyah, dan SMA luar biasa. Ujian nasional untuk tingkat SMP atau sederajat akan digelar pada 27 sampai 30 April dan ujian untuk tingkat SD atau sederajat pada 11 sampai 31 Mei.

Pemprov, kata Taufik, menargetkan peningkatan tingkat kelulusan dibanding tahun lalu. Pada 2008, tingkat kelulusan untuk SMA 94 persen, SMK 93,76 persen, dan SMP 99,98 persen.

Menurut Yudi, pemerintah menganggarkan dana Rp 12,7 miliar untuk membiayai ujian nasional. Dengan kucuran dana itu, pengelola sekolah negeri dan swasta tidak boleh memungut uang untuk ujian nasional kepada siswa. Yudi juga menjamin tidak ada kebocoran soal ujian nasional. (ECA)