Minah Febrianti, a 44-year-old mother of four, tried to focus on her work at a private company in Jakarta, on Tuesday.

But her mind was preoccupied with thoughts of her son taking his first computer-based national examination, which would determine whether he would be able to get into state senior high school SMA N 26, a popular high school known for its academic excellence in Tebet, South Jakarta.

“My body is at the office, but my mind keeps wandering to my son’s school,” Minah told The Jakarta Post.

She even thought about taking paid leave so that she could help her son — a ninth-grade student at state junior high school SMP N 182 in South Jakarta — prepare for the exam, which started on Tuesday and will last through next Monday.

However, Minah said she was unable to leave her job at the moment, not even for a day, because she had urgent tasks to be done.

“I can only pray as much as I can. I also keep reminding him to study and prepare his uniform, tie, belt and exam equipment, like a mouse and his exam identification number” she said.

Minah was also worried that her son would not be able to operate the computer, seeing how this was the first time her son has taken a computer-based exam.

“My son is so calm, and he said to me, ‘Mama, you need to relax and just wait for the exam results,’” she said, adding that she felt relieved that he had performed well on the first day.

Other parents, especially those whose children want to attend popular state senior high schools, are also restless during this crucial exam period.

In order to be accepted at a prestigious state high school in Jakarta, a student is required to score at least nine out of 10 in each test subject.

Yasmin Indah, a ninth-grader at state junior high school SMP N 101 in West Jakarta, said she was afraid that her grades may not be good enough.

“My mother also feels jittery and keeps asking me to study. She is more protective now, banning me from playing with my mobile phone and laptop if it’s not necessary,” she said.

However, Yasmin said that her exam has been going well and she did not face any difficulties on her first day of testing, which assessed students on their Bahasa Indonesia skills.

She acknowledged that the teachers of her school had prepared her and her classmates for the exam by conducted a simulation last month to familiarize students with the computer-based testing method.

Imelda Kurniawan, who works as head of the emergency room at St. Carolus Salemba Hospital in Central Jakarta, said several of her friends had urged their children to cram for the exam in order to get the necessary marks to be accepted into their chosen high schools.

“Some of my daughter’s friends wanted to go to state senior high schools. That’s why they studied hard [for the exam]. Because if their grades aren’t good enough, they can’t get into top senior high schools,” she told the Post.

And the pressure is not exclusive to students and parents, as teachers are pressured to have their students perform well so that their schools could also achieve a high rank.

“At St. Ursula Catholic School, which my daughter attends, the teachers are stressed out because last year, the school got the highest exam score among all junior high schools in Jakarta,” Imelda explained.

“So, they want to maintain that [achievement].”

Held over four days, the final exam tests four subjects: Bahasa Indonesia, Mathematics, English and Science. The exam can be divided into three sessions, depending on the availability of computers and the number of students in the school. The first session begins at 7:30 a.m. and the last session ends at 4 p.m.

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