W

ith some schools initiating the use of closed-circuit television (CCTV), the Education and Culture Ministry is further strengthening efforts to eradicate fraud during national examinations by making students sign a declaration of honesty.

Jakarta Education Agency chief Taufik Yudi Mulyanto said the aim was to encourage students to be honest, especially during the examinations.

“By signing the declaration, we want students to maintain their integrity, not just get high scores,” he said on Monday.

Senior high school students did their three-day national examination last week and junior high school students are now doing their four-day national examination in Bahasa Indonesia, English, mathematics and science starting on Monday.

Taufik said that any student who violated the declaration would not face sanctions, rather,“It will help build their character,” he said.

Sudarman, a national examination supervisor at SMPN 73 state junior high school in Tebet, South Jakarta, said that the declaration would be very useful.

“It will have a positive impact on students because they will, hopefully, be honest and more responsible during their exams,” said Sudarman, who has been teaching since 1984.

SMPN 115 principal Pesta Maria Yance Sinaga said she was confident of her students’ honesty.

“We believe in them. We always teach them that cheating will only benefit them for a while, but will harm them in the long run,” she said.

SMPN 73 principal Sri Sulastri said the declaration was attached to the examination papers of all students.

She said she was confident all of her students would pass the exam because her school had prepared them to an optimal level, even though the national exam would determine only 60 percent of their graduation requirement, while the other 40 percent would be determined by the school based on their performance.

“Besides giving additional lessons, the school held a collective Islamic prayer, asking for aid from God, a week before the examination,” Sri said.

Meanwhile, students were skeptical about the declarations’ effectiveness. Some of them said that it would not promote honest behavior during the exam. A 14-year-old SMPN 73 student, Vibhi Nurazaputra Ramadhan, said that the letter was pointless. “No matter how smart you are, when you don’t know something, you will ask other people,” he said, explaining how he saw some of his friends cheating during the exam.

Vibhi himself did not try to cheat because Bahasa Indonesia was easy for him.

“The hardest subjects for me are English and science,” he said.

Rizky Leihitu, 15, who studies at the same school as Vibhi, also thought that the requirement was extreme. “Is it really necessary? If the students are honest, they will be honest with or without the declaration,” said Rizky, who was satisfied with his work.

Meanwhile, Femmy Kartika Sari, 15-year-old student who lives in Tebet, thought that the declaration was important yet did not really know the consequences of violating the commitment. “The supervisor did not explain anything about the declaration. They just asked me to sign it.” (cor)