After carefully observing the smear of a human’s heart muscle under a microscope, twelfth grader Rifka Fachrunnisa quickly wrote down her answers in a work sheet given during a biology competition in Depok last week.

Right after she finished writing, a jury rang a bell and ordered Rifka and another dozen of participants to switch chairs and analyze a different smear.

The chair switching continued every 90 seconds until all participants had observed 20 different smears and answered a long list of questions.

“The timing was so tight, I think I made several mistakes,” said Rifka, a student at SMUN 1 Karawang High School in West Java.

Wearing a grey-and-white school uniform on her supposed school holiday, Rifka was among dozens of high school students from Greater Jakarta participating in a Biology competition held by Department of Biology in the Faculty of Mathematics and Sciences at the University of Indonesia.

Running from Monday to Saturday, the competition, titled “Labiatae”, tests the students’ knowledge of biology, which includes theoretical concepts, laboratory skills and field observation of living organisms.

The competition officer Febrial Hikmah said the event was aimed at promoting biology to high school students by letting them experience the interesting side of the subject.

“Many students think biology is a boring and difficult subject since they only learn it from textbooks. Letting them carry out field observations will help them have a broader perspective about this science,” she said.

Data from the Ministry of Education shows that only around 5 percent of the 4.3 million university students in Indonesia are studying sciences.

Critics have said the country’s science curricula have too much emphasis on theory and put aside the importance of bringing students to experience field research or observation.

Aliya Kiasatina, a participant from SMU 39 High School in South Jakarta, said although she received an outstanding mark in biology and other sciences, she did not want to learn those subjects again at university.

“I have spent a lot of time studying those subjects but I am just not interested in any of them,” Aliya said, adding she dreamt of studying interior design after graduating from high school.

Risha Emyta from SMUN 68 High School, Central Jakarta, shared the same view, saying she would prefer to study law at university.

“I think being a lawyer will allow me to earn a much higher income than being a scientist,” she said, smiling. (hwa)

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