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he Culture and Elementary and Secondary Education Ministry launched on Friday the revised national exam system, ending its function as the determining factor for graduation.

Culture and Elementary and Secondary Education Minister Anies Baswedan told reporters that not only would the national exam no longer be used to determine graduation but students would have the opportunity to take the exam multiple times to improve their scores.

'€œWe changed things to encourage students to study as we don'€™t want their sole aim to be just to graduate. We also understand that the old system placed stress on students because the stakes were high,'€ he said at the ministry in South Jakarta.

Previously, to pass the national exam, secondary students had to score at least a 4 in every subject and had to have an average score (that factored in the national exam, school exams and reports) that was no lower than 5.5.

High school students who failed the national exam had to take another test the following year or an equivalency test and would receive a different diploma than their peers who passed the exam.

Many students reportedly suffered from depression while others allegedly cheated on the exam with the help of their friends and teachers.

Anies stressed that each school now had the sole authority to determine if a student should graduate, based on their final school exams and their behavior. He said this would take pressure off teachers and students.

Students and teachers would then be given a report card that showed a student'€™s scores compared to their peers at the same school and also nationally.

Furthermore, the scores would be accompanied by the terms '€œexcellent'€, '€œgood'€, '€œfair'€ and '€œstill lacking'€ to describe the student'€™s achievements. Parents would be able to consult with the teachers about the terms, he said.

Anies added that the average national and provincial scores would also be published online.

'€œNext year, junior and high school students will be obligated to take the national exam at the beginning of their sixth, and final, semester. If students feel that their scores can be improved, they can repeat the exam multiple times until they are happy with their scores,'€ he said.

However, due to the last-minute revision, junior high and high school students taking the national exams this year could only retake the exam next year.

According to the ministry'€™s research and development head, Furqon, around 7.3 million secondary students from 79,399 schools will take a paper-based version of the new national exam in May and April. Only 540 of those schools will try a computer-based national exam this year.

Anies said the ministry hoped the computer-based exam could be implemented nationwide next year because it would reduce the need for extensive security to transport exam materials. Furthermore, it meant that national exam schedules could be more flexible and individual schools did not need to conduct the exams simultaneously.

Although the national exams no longer determined graduation, Anies said that its scores would still be used by universities to determine admission.

'€œSo if a student finds that their national exam scores aren'€™t good enough to get accepted into a specific university or program, they can retake the exam,'€ he said, adding that the ministry would also open testing centers by 2019 so that schools did not have to hold the national exams on campus.