Many junior high school students have had to deal with difficult news after not passing the national exams, the results of which were announced Friday, particularly for those who expected to pass.
“I’m quite confused with the result, because many children who had high academic achievements turned out to be the ones who do not pass,” said Ertna, a teacher at SMPN 163 in Rawajati, South Jakarta.
“Maybe this examination was determined by luck,” she said.
Risma, one of the students that passed, also regretted the failure of some of her friends, especially those who she knew to be smart students.
“I don’t understand what the determining factor was,” she said, adding that most of her friends failed only in one subject — English.
“I have a friend who got nine for all three subjects [maths, natural sciences and Indonesian], but because he only got three in English he has to take the remedial exams.”
This year is the first time the government will hold remedial exams for junior high school students, scheduled for May 17 to 20.
According to data from the National Education Ministry, in Jakarta almost 29 percent of students must take the remedial exam if they wish to continue their studies in high school. This is far higher than last year’s figures, when 99.8 percent of students passed in the first round.
While students have a second chance to improve their grades, for many students, the failure has blown their confidence.
Rina and Istimawadah are among 36 students of SMPN 163 who did not pass.
On finding their not on the list of students who passed they seemed to isolate themselves from other students.
“What should I do? Will this affect my registration for high school?” Rina asked.
She said she had already done her best by attending extra lessons at school and taking tutoring classes at a private institution.
Teacher, Ertna, calmed her down saying the registration for high school would not open until the national exam process, including the remedial exams, concluded.
Several tutoring intuitions said they had provided special programs to help students facing the exams.
“We provide extra time for students to consult our teaching staff,” said Lita, an operational staffer at Nurul Fikri in Bintaro, South Jakarta.
“All of our 93 junior high students passed,” she said.
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