Suherdjoko, The Jakarta Post, Semarang
Junior high school students taking the three-day equivalency exam, which ended Thursday, said the latest tests were easier than the national final examination.
Andri, a student from SMPN 19 junior high school in Semarang, Central Java, had to take the Kejar Paket B equivalency exam after failing the national exam.
""I'm sure I will pass this time. I was able to complete the math test and hope to at least get a six. For other subjects, I am certain that I will get better grades, above six,"" he said.
At his school, 14 students failed the national exam and had to take the equivalency test.
""I don't want to repeat a year. It's embarrassing,"" said the student, who plans to attend a vocational school after finishing junior high school.
In the national examination, Andri failed math and English, receiving a score of four for each subject. He received a five for his Indonesian language test. A score of five for each subject is required in order to pass the national exam.
Andri's friend, Candra Dwi Putra, scored seven in math and six in Indonesian on the final exam, but scored only a three in English.
""I'm really weak in English. The score meant that I failed the overall exam. That's why I have had to work hard to pass the English component in this equivalency test. I hope I passed,"" he said.
Another student, Danang, failed math and English. He scored four and three respectively.
""I scored seven on the Indonesian language test, but poor scores in the other two subjects meant that I failed the national exam.""
The three students were among 383 participants of the equivalency test, held at SMAN 1 senior high school, in Semarang.
In Central Java alone, 56,053 junior high school students failed this year's final national exam.
According to data from the Central Java Education and Culture Office, the number of failed students represents 11.32 percent of the total number who took part in the examination. The number of students who passed the exam increased from last year when 13.29 percent failed.
Without a passing mark on the national exam, students are not able to register to attend high school.
Even if students pass the equivalency exam, registration is still an issue as it will be held from July 2-5, but the equivalency test results are not scheduled to be announced until July 11-28.
In order to enroll in high school, a student must have a junior high school certificate.
""I hope (the registration process) will be flexible for those of us who don't have our results yet but really want to continue our studies,"" said Andri.
Final examination results for junior high school students were officially announced last Saturday across the country.
Students in East Nusa Tenggara fared particularly poorly, with 17,959 of 51,770 students failing. The worst performance in the province was in Alor regency, where 1,791 of 2,627 students failed.
