‘Cheating is widespread’

The good fight: Alif (right), a student from SDN 2 state elementary school in Gadel, Surabaya, and his mother Siami participate in a discussion in Surabaya on Thursday. Siami reported on widespread practices of cheating during the national exams at the school recently. Antara/M. Risyal Hidayat

More witnesses testified Thursday that cheating during the national exams was commonplace and occurred at almost all levels of education.

At a press conference at the Constitutional Court building on Thursday, Retno Listyarti, the chairwoman of the Jakarta Teachers Forum (FMGJ), gave a first-hand account on how cheating took place when she was a supervisor for the 2010 national exam in North Jakarta.

“None of students were in the classroom when I arrived at 7:30 a.m. The test started at 8 a.m. At about 8:10, students began arriving at the school on motorcycles and I learned that they had gone to obtain answer sheets for the test before they left for school,” Retno, a teacher at SMA 13 state senior high school in North Jakarta, said.

Retno said that in spite of the answer sheets, none of the students at the school passed the national exam because they had the wrong answer sheets.

She said she also noticed oddities in how the national exams were conducted in some schools in working-class neighborhoods.

“In a math exam, the students did not use any paper to work out the answers, and it is almost impossible to do a math exam without working anything out on paper,” she said.

Another whistle-blower, Kamal Fikri, a teacher at a vocational school in Cilegon, Banten, said it was difficult for teachers to maintain integrity during the national exams.

In 2005, Kamal said he attempted to protect a student who was assaulted by other students after confessing to have received answer sheets for the test, but was suspended.

“The head of the local education agency called me and then the school headmaster relieved me of my duties. Students were encouraged to revile me and my colleague did not want to shake my hand,” he said.

Parents and students who move to uncover cheating practices also become targets of bullying.

One such parent, Handaru Wijatmiko, said his son received hate mail after exposing cheating practices.

“He received a letter stating that he was not allowed to sit the national exam because I reported cheating practices during the exam,” Handaru said.

A similar fate befell Siami, the mother of a student at SDN 2 state elementary school in Gadel, Surabaya, East Java, who alleged that school officials forced her son to help other students during the exams.

Following her report, Surabaya Mayor Tri Rismaharini formed an independent team to probe the allegations. The team’s findings led to the firing of the principal and two teachers and reductions in the allowances of other teachers.

Neighbors angrily demonstrated in front of Siami’s home on several occasions, claiming she “defamed” the village and their children. They threatened to set fire to her house unless she left the area.

National Education Minister Mohammad Nuh said no mass cheating took place in Surabaya, despite findings by the mayor’s team.

Mass cheating allegations also surfaced in Jakarta, with top students at SDN 6 state elementary school in Pesanggrahan, South Jakarta, claiming that they were instructed to share answers with other students.

Irma Winda Lubis said her 12-year-old son was one of the students instructed to share answers.

Responding to the growing scandal, the Jakarta administration, City Council and the National Commission for Child Protection (Komnas- PA) agreed to establish a joint investigation team to start a probe.

Mara Oloan Siregar from the Jakarta People’s Welfare Agency, said the team would include officials from the Jakarta Education Agency and representatives from the city’s educational board and Jakarta State University.

“The primary objective of the probe is not to identify culprits. We want to evaluate and reform the system to improve it,” Mara said.

Komnas PA chairman Arist Merdeka Sirait said his organization would ensure that the interests of students would not be harmed during the probe.

“We are sure that the initiative to cheat did not come from the students. We believe that the system is defective and the children are its victims,” he said. (rcf)