Wasti Atmodjo and Alit Kartarahardja, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar/Singaraja | Mon, 03/22/2010 10:16 AM
Bali students and teachers have pledged to implement the national
examination this Monday with honesty and are optimistic about academic
success, an official said.
Bali Head of Education Office I Wayan Suasta confirmed all preparations were 100 percent ready.
“Today [Monday], 41,066 students of high schools and vocational schools are entering one of their most important periods.”
In 2009, Bali’s passing standards reached 99.82 percent together with Jakarta and Yogyakarta.
“We hope this year we can achieve 100 percent,” Suasta said.
“Bali students are required to work hard to achieve their dreams. We will fully support any educational activities for Bali’s schools.”
To implement the national examination, Bali provincial administration received Rp 4.6 billion in funds from the Central Government for the distribution of test documents and other supporting materials.
I Made Tumbuh, head master of SMAN 1 High School in Denpasar, one of the most popular schools in Bali, said his students were ready to carry out the exams.
“We gave them a series of trial exams and additional school hours since last February to enable them undergo the exams confidently.”
In 2009, all students of SMAN 1 passed the national examination with high grades nationwide.
The national examination for high school students will start Monday through to Thursday.
“A number of independent team from Udayana University and other agencies will be monitoring the process of the exams in every school,” Suasta said.
In Buleleng regency in North Bali, local officials and teachers were worried over the delay in the distribution of test documents Saturday.
“But, now all materials already arrived here. Buleleng was a three-hour trip from Denpasar,” said Buleleng Head of Education Office Gde Suyasa.
“The delay was caused by our location.”
Around 51 high schools and vocational schools in Buleleng regency are ready to take part in national exams. As many as 4,160 students will participate in this year’s exams.
“Almost all schools in the regency were ready to participate in national exams,” Suyasa said.
Prior to the exams, thousands of Balinese students prayed at schools and temples across Bali to ask for God’s blessings.
“We want to perform a clean and honest exam,” said Shanti Arshana, a teacher at Sidhi Karya high school in Kubutambahan village in Buleleng.
IGB Suyadnya, a teacher at SMAN3 high school in Singaraja confirmed his students were mentally and academically prepared for the exams. In 2009, only two students failed the national exams in Buleleng.
