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List of olympiad winners reveals gaps in education
The National Science Olympiad (OSN) might show examples of success stories of the Indonesian education system, as some of its medalists have won international titles
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he National Science Olympiad (OSN) might show examples of success stories of the Indonesian education system, as some of its medalists have won international titles.
However, a deeper look into its list of winners offers a glimpse into the yawning gaps of education infrastructure within the country’s many provinces.
The annual, prestigious competition wrapped up in July after months of selection processes at the school, city and provincial levels.
The capital city of Jakarta came out as the winner, bringing home 15 gold medals, 15 silver medals and 18 bronze medals from a total of nine contested subjects: mathematics, physics, chemistry, geography, biology, astronomy, economics, informatics and earth science.
Jakarta’s victory did not come as a surprise as it marked the city’s third consecutive win. In fact, it is one of only two provinces, the other being Central Java, to have ever won the olympiad since its commencement in 2002.
In general, students from the country’s most populous island of Java have long dominated the competition.
This year alone, the six provinces of the island nearly swept the field with a total of 188 medals, two-thirds of the contested 271 medals.
Following behind Java was Sumatra with 56 medals, Sulawesi with 14 medals, Kalimantan with eight medals and Bali with five medals.
West and East Nusa Tenggara provinces, as well as those on the islands of Maluku and Papua, went home empty-handed.
Data on medalists from previous years show that this year was just a case of history repeating itself.
Last year, Java had 201 of the 270 contested medals. Provinces on the islands of Maluku and Papua brought home none. The numbers were not so much different in 2017, with students from Java winning 197 of 273 medals.
Such a discrepancy was acknowledged by the Education and Culture Ministry’s director general for elementary and secondary education, Didik Suhardi, who said that Java’s domination was “inevitable”.
“It’s our task to ensure equity in the quality of senior high schools all over Indonesia. Hopefully the school zoning system could speed up the improvement of schools so that we can scout talents from every part of the country,” he told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.
Didik was referring to a system that the government implemented nationwide two years ago in which state schools have to prioritize enrolling students living in their vicinities. The system aims to provide more balance to school quality and ease education access to students.
He ensured that every student had equal opportunity to participate in the olympiad regardless of their school and place of origin. The 2019 OSN requires that each province be represented by at least one student per subject and a maximum of 10 percent of the number of total olympiad participants. Every school can only send up to two students per subject.
Didik said that prior to provincial-level olympiads, the ministry would assign trainers from Jakarta to coach teachers in provinces outside Java to prepare their students for the national olympiad.
Some provincial administrations had also worked together with surrounding universities to prepare the students, he said, adding that lecturers outside Java were just as qualified, though improvements in preparation systems were still necessary.
Preparations for the OSN typically last a month. Hiring skilled trainers, such as lecturers and previous medalists themselves, to prepare the students, and sometimes even the teachers, requires funding that comes from various sources, including schools, regional or state funds and sponsorships.
Lazuardi “Arzak” Amikal Hidayat, a silver medalist in chemistry at the 2013 OSN, was hired by schools in Samarinda, East Kalimantan, and Lampung to help students prepare for the olympiad as well as Jambi to train teachers between 2014 and 2016. He is currently pursuing a master’s degree in chemical engineering in France.
The graduate of Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) said that schools outside Java commonly hired private training institutions, comprising mainly OSN medalists who went to top universities in Java.
The top 10 universities in the country according to the 2019 QS World University Ranking are all located in Java.
Arzak said he could earn up to Rp 1 million (US$70) per day training students and teachers. Schools would also pay for his accommodation. The institutions, however, charged varying rates, with one of the most established institutions charging Rp 2 million per student per day, he said.
He said the students he had taught outside Java were not as exposed to quality reading materials as their Javanese counterparts. Teachers also tended to enforce a memorization approach instead of ensuring that the students understood basic concepts.
“As a result, the students are facing difficulties competing. That’s why they resort to hiring university students. It’s understandable because teachers may not focus on the olympiad as they often face difficulties teaching even the basics in class. But that’s the general problem with our education system — students are supposed to understand the basics from early on,” he said.
Education expert Totok Amin Soefijanto said the government’s failure to increase the quality of education in places outside Java was “a latent and structural problem”.
He said teacher competence was key to improving the quality of education, noting that the Education and Culture Ministry and local administrations allocated the already limited budget for teacher training and competence testing.
“Teachers’ competence should be examined and they should be trained according to the examination results. We haven’t held teacher competence examinations since 2015 because the education ministry is facing budget cuts,” Totok said.
The government has to allocate at least 20 percent of the state budget for education.
This year, Rp 492.5 trillion from the state budget was allocated for education, up from Rp 444.1 trillion last year. Only Rp 36 trillion was allocated for the ministry, however, marking a 10.2 percent decrease from last year’s funds given, katadata.co.id reported.
In addition to the construction and rehabilitation of school buildings, the Finance Ministry said on its website that the funds from the budget targeted the Smart Indonesia program, School Operational Assistance program and Bidik Misi scholarship programs, all of which aim to ensure access to education. (asp)
