Nuh surprises public with new scheme

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Sat, 10/31/2009 1:11 PM  |  National

Only a day after he was appointed national education minister, Muhammad Nuh managed to spark debate when he said he was going to use the scores from the national final exams to replace the current student selection mechanism for state universities.

The State Universities’ National Entrance Tests, now known as SNMPTN, have been in place since 1983. Most of the students in state universities are accepted through this selection method. Other methods — Interest and Talent-Based Selection, or PMDK, and other selection tests held independently
by each university — take fewer students.

Nuh, who was communication and information minister from 2006 until 2009, said the scores in the national final exams should be applicable for student selection for state universities.

“If we can make it easier, why make it harder by giving more tests?” he said, referring to a cigarette advertising campaign, although he himself does not smoke.

The scheme is a part of his vision to integrate the education system in the country. He argued that students’ scores in the national final exams for elementary and junior high schools had been used as a selection tool for the next level of education, thus the same method should be applicable for senior high school graduates.

The scheme was included in his 100-day program, although he said its implementation could take years. Nuh said he was going to discuss the plan with rectors from several state universities.

A spokesman for Nuh, Sukemi, told The Jakarta Post on Thursday that this year, the ministry would try out the scheme in big state universities such as the University of Indonesia in Depok, Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta and the Bandung Institute of Technology.

Born into a farmer family in Gununganyar, Surabaya in 1959, Nuh grew up within a religious
environment and demonstrated his capability with his admission to the electronics faculty of the November 10 Surabaya Institute of Technology (ITS) in 1983. He got his master’s and PhD degrees from Montpellier University of Science and Technology in Languedoc, France, and he was employed as a lecturer at ITS until he was elected rector in 2004.

Nuh and his wife, Laily Rachmawati, a dentist, have a daughter, Rachma Rizqina Mardhotillah, who was born in Montpellier in 1989 when Nuh was taking a postgraduate program.

With his experience as rector of ITS, Nuh was considered the right man for his current post. His appointment as the national education minister did not trigger any significant negative response from the public, instead, many can hardly wait for what the 50-year-old will bring to the table.

In the early days of his appointment, he pledged he would ensure the country had no damaged or leaky-roofed schools by 2010.

“If the infrastructure is well-managed, then the teaching and learning process will also run smoothly,”
Nuh said.

Sukemi said Nuh had proposed education institutions in the country focused more on shaping their students’ characters “through using different methods of teaching and using different materials in the subjects currently taught in schools”.

“The minister will also develop parenting education, a scheme to make parents more involved
in their children’s education,” he added. (adh)

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Ferril Irham M (not verified), State University of Malang — Sun, 11/08/2009 - 3:58am

SNMPTN Should be Ongoing not Stopped Nowadays, there is an idea to use UN (National Examination) as a media to enroll State Universities. That idea should be criticized because there will be no competition to enroll state universities. As what Darwin tells in his book, The Origin of The Species, that Competition is natural events in nature. Darwin, in his book The Origin of The Species, says that natural selection is daily and hourly scrutinising, throughout the world, the slightest variations. In other words natural selection is must be happened like or dislike. If there is no natural selection, there will be no progress in nature. That is happening in SNMPTN (National Selection to Enroll State Universities). Students who want to enroll universities follow SNMPTN. Especially in favorite subject such as Medicines, English and PGSD (Pendidikan Guru Sekolah Dasar), level of selection is high. According to data from snmptn.ac.id, one student should compete with 30 or more others students in favorite subjects. That condition makes students who want to enroll state universities studying hard. Nobody could guarantee smart students could enter favorite subject. Although smart students pass standard of competence, they should vie their score with other 30 until 50 persons. That competition makes states universities got best input for teach to build country. In contrast to UN (National Examination) assessment system, students only need pass the graduation standard unlike vie their score to the others. That system could not guarantee state universities get best input. The UN’s assessment method is not representing a competition to be the best. Accordingly, UN, before the assessment system changed, cannot be used as a way to enroll state universities. Without competition like what happening in SNMPTN, State Universities will not get the best input. Like what Darwin, in the last part of Origin of the species chapter 4, Natural Selection, says, I believe it has been with the great Tree of Life, which fills with its dead and broken branches the crust of the earth, and covers the surface with its ever-branching and beautiful ramifications. Ferril Irham M, State University of Malang, English Department Faculty of Letters.

Agus Riyanto (not verified), Jakarta Timur — Tue, 11/03/2009 - 10:31am

When we say about simplify methods, the idea from the Mr. Nuh is great Idea, but when we see the accountability and the integrity of final exam is still questioned, so I think we can implement this method when the final exam is going better, objective and there's no problem with cheating.

Cholis — Sun, 11/01/2009 - 8:34pm

cholis1987 I totally agree with Pak Nuh ideas of using final exam score for selection process in the university, as most of senior high graduation had been working hard to be succesful in obtaining the good score in final exam, and it cost a lot of money too, so why, they cant use it to enroll in a univesity? the certificate of final examination should be usefull, giving more test in the screening process is just waste of money and time, the education system in indonesia need to be simplified so students from low income family can breath

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