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Less is more: Is shorter school week answer to Indonesian students’ poor performance?
Chairman of the Indonesian Child Protection Agency (LPAI) Seto Mulyadi makes bold suggestion of shortening school week to boost children's academic and nonacademic performances. Child and adolescent psychologist Alzena Masykouri stresses the quality of time spent in school rather than length of time is the key issue.
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Pupils at Kemirimuka I elementary school, Depok, West Java, work on assignments on Tuesday.
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hairman of the Indonesian Child Protection Agency (LPAI) Seto Mulyadi recently made headlines for his suggestion of shortening the school week to three days to boost children's academic and nonacademic performances.
He made the statement only days after the release of an OECD Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) report that revealed a declining performance by Indonesian students in reading, science and mathematics.
Seto – popularly known as Kak Seto – made the suggestion based on his experience with two schools that he cofounded.
The students of Homeschooling Kak Seto (HSKS) in South Tangerang, Banten, only spend three days a week in school. Yet, Seto found that the homeschool students generally performed better than the children who studied from Monday until Friday at Mutiara Indonesia International in Bekasi, West Java.
"Homeschooling with a shorter school time allows students to develop their talents like dancing and singing elsewhere. So, there is a balance between academic and other activities," Seto told The Jakarta Post over the phone recently.
Among the HSKS alumni are actress Prilly Latuconsina, musician Abdul Qodir Jaelani, the son of singer and composer Ahmad Dhani, and young racer Ali Adriansyah.
Seto further revealed that the HSKS alumni managed to get into the country's top state universities, including the University of Indonesia, Gadjah Mada University and the Bandung Institute of Technology.
