Clash of ideologies over high school credit system

Agnes Winarti , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Sat, 07/19/2008 11:01 AM | City

A year after the implementation of the SKS credit system at three high schools in the capital, differences have arisen on how the system should be interpreted.

One school said it expected the scheme to help students gain greater independence and develop a more mature character, while another school said it expected students to achieve higher grades and complete their studies sooner.

High/Scope Indonesia High School in South Jakarta, one of the schools that adopted the system, believes the philosophy behind the credit system is to develop independence, not to accelerate graduation.

"Educators who do not understand the philosophy of the credit system assume it is just another acceleration program to let students graduate in less time than the normally prescribed three years," High/Scope founder Antarina S.F. Amir told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

"It is maturity we want our students to have, rather than merely fast academic achievement. Our students can only graduate after a minimal of three years in senior high school."

Another school running the credit system, state high school 78 (SMU 78) in West Jakarta, offered a different viewpoint.

They claim the credit system allows students the opportunity to graduate from high school in two years.

Djumadi, principal of SMU 78, said under the SKS system, students could choose to take the "fast lane" and graduate in two years, or take the "normal lane" and graduate in three to five years.

"Students who participate in the fast lane program are those achieving GPAs of three and above," he added.

High/Scope Indonesia, SMU 78 and Jubilee School in North Jakarta adopted the SKS system in 2007.

Prior to this, the schools implemented the package system that all other schools across the country were using. Under the package system, first year students get between 14 and 17 mandatory subjects in one academic year. With the SKS system, second year students, for instance, may choose only 10 subjects.

"In the package system, a first year student must take 17 subjects, while a second year student 14 subjects," Djumadi said.

Under the SKS program, he said, students took subjects each semester based on their GPA. Those with a GPA of less than 2.75 took between seven and 10 subjects (20 credits), while those with a GPA of more than 2.75 took between nine and 11 subjects (24 credits).

Those with a GPA of more than 3.00 took between 10 and 14 subjects (32 credits).

Djumadi said the more credits a student took, the longer hours they spent at school, sometimes studying from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

"Students in the fast lane do not choose subjects, because we have to follow the subject arrangement made for the program," said Khairunnisa, an SMU 78 student in the fast lane program.

She said she usually attended classes from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., with a more comprehensive and advanced level of subjects compared to students in the package program.

However, she said she still needed additional courses after school hours to prepare for the national examination.

"The credit system is not aimed to rush students through high school, but to teach them to be independent and start thinking earlier about what they would like to do in the future," Antarina said.

"The system tries to familiarize students with the credit system used in universities. Students should pursue knowledge rather than just good grades."

Despite differing philosophies, the credit system has given rise to an environment similar to the package system, with students pulling out all the stops to get passing grades.

Elisabeth and Febriana, SMU 78 students, said the credit system was not radically different, and said during exams students would race to the classrooms to get seats at the back.

Many students believe sitting at the back provides more opportunity to cheat, and hence earn high grades.

The city's education authorities were unfazed by this.

"There is no problem with the application of the fast lane program in the high school credit system," said Margani M. Mustar, head of Jakarta's junior and senior high education agency.

"Some students have a higher learning capacity than others. A regular student might need 30 minutes to understand a subject, but another might understand the same subject in 10 minutes.

"The fast lane is designed to cater fast learners like these."

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