T

he recent hullabaloo over the enforcement of the education ministry's 2009 decree targeted at international and national schools with the label "international" only serves to highlight the fact that education will never be free from government intervention. In an effort to ensure quality control, government intervention is mandatory to regulate the mushrooming practice of so-called national schools with "international" standards and to protect the basic rights of citizens to quality education. (By Setiono Sugiharto, Jakarta)

Your comments:

It should be pointed out that there is an enormous amount of evidence in research supporting these ideas. Studies done in many different countries consistently show that a good foundation in the first language helps second language development. Education in the first language is a win-win deal: Students develop high levels of competence in both languages.

Stephen Krashen
California

What is needed in Indonesia is a turn to teaching grassroots literacy in local languages, whatever the L1. Students have to be encouraged to do free voluntary reading - of books, articles, texts of all kind, online, in print, photocopies - that they enjoy. Reading has to be fun or it won't be anything but a school-based turnoff for many average kids (and adults), who like comics, e-games, music texts, films - but not what they get to read as sanctioned by schools and ministries.

What's needed is the production of simpler reading material in large quantities, hundreds of titles made available cheaply, distributed by photocopy, written by teachers, journalists, in the local vernaculars (Indonesian and many others).

We need a kind of "people's library", at a simple, lean and clear level.

Journalists could be writing stories, local fiction, simple explanatory non-fiction books about science, government, justice - maybe as graphic novels. They have the talent.

Yes, 250 simple graphic novels and memoirs, histories, priced at 9,000 rupiah each. But it all depends on distribution, getting very cheap (even cost-free) copies into the hands of kids in villages, in the remotest corners of Sumatra and Sulawesi.

Bill Templer
Kuala Lumpur

The international schools are so called sometimes as a way to attract consumers. In this way, only the fortunate children whose parents can afford such a huge amount of fees will be able to gain admission, whereas the less-fortunate may not be able to afford it. Our National Education Commission Should pay attention to the growing number of international schools to at least set basic standards for a school to be considered an international school and, again, the standards should be in collaboration with our national heritage and not merely on the basis of imported foreign standards. The standards should relate to the teacher's quality, curriculum, etc.

Kamilia Hamidah
Islamabad

What is the international curriculum? Is it the curriculum of another country? If so, then it wouldn't fit for Indonesia. Or would it? Let us face the reality that Indonesia lacks quality and professionalism in its education system. The nation needs good-quality education for all its young citizens, not only for the few advantaged students who are born into rich families, and who can afford to go to the so called "international schools".

After all, the so-called "international schools" are teaching the government requirements (as per the law), plus have developed an additional curriculum. However, each one has developed the curriculum as it suits them, or in accordance with a foreign system. This is negatively affecting the children studying there, as they are studying a foreign curriculum, which is suitable for that foreign country and not for Indonesia.

Most of these, so called "international schools" have their own objectives, which usually do not fully comply with the national objectives of the country. This is besides the fact that they are looking for huge profits, due to the lack of a proper government education system. The government has thankfully increased the salaries of teachers, but what about the quality of these teachers?

What about the professionalism in the education system as a whole? The government should form a committee of Indonesian experts to develop an appropriate syllabus for each class, and thereby develop an entire well education curriculum and system. Even though there is no harm in getting get foreign experts to help, I believe there are enough experts within Indonesia to do the job.

It is good to learn foreign languages, but the stress should remain on the national language, and local culture. Development of the education system should be by far the first priority of any government. Only with a proper education system, can Indonesia achieve the development and stability it deserves in the future.