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Educators question feasibility of new curriculum
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Full capacity: Students attend full face-to-face learning under health protocols at SD 15 Pagi state elementary school in Mangga Besar, West Jakarta, on Jan. 19. (Antara/Muhammad Adimaja)
E
ducation, Culture, Research and Technology Minister Nadiem Makarim’s push to introduce a new curriculum, dubbed the Merdeka (Freedom) curriculum, has been met with skepticism from teachers, who are not convinced that it is compatible with schools nationwide, although the implementation remains optional.
The new curriculum, which will be applicable from this year for early childhood education institutions all the way up to senior high schools, has been touted by Nadiem as an answer to learning loss during the pandemic, particularly since previous curricula were deemed “too full of content”.
The Merdeka curriculum focuses on only the most essential learning materials for students. Unlike the previous curricula, which set out a certain amount of learning hours per week for each subject, the Merdeka curriculum sets out annual targets, in effect giving schools more flexibility to structure their teaching programs and learning timetables. The Merdeka curriculum also allows teachers to experiment with learning tools and for students to choose their preferred subjects, and emphasizes project-based learning, geared toward developing students’ soft skills and building character.
Schools now are given the freedom to implement one of three curricula: the tried-and-tested 2013 curriculum, the emergency curriculum, which simplifies the 2013 iteration, or the Merdeka curriculum.
Rushed process
While Nadiem appeared to wax lyrical on the benefits of the Merdeka curriculum, educator groups contend that the drafting of the Merdeka curriculum was too rushed and offered too little time to test it out on a nationwide scale.
The Merdeka curriculum has already been trialed by some 2,500 handpicked schools. These schools, dubbed sekolah penggerak (activator schools), began implementing the curriculum last year.
