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North Jakarta community gives free night classes for children
Study group: Children in Koja district, North Jakarta, learn math during a night class on Nov
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tudy group: Children in Koja district, North Jakarta, learn math during a night class on Nov. 3 at the Sindang Raya integrated child-friendly public space (RPTRA). The night classes were initiated by the management of the RPTRA.(JP/Nina A. Loasana)
The African proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child”, rings true for residents of Koja district, North Jakarta.
In an attempt to better educate children of the community, the management team of the Sindang Raya integrated child-friendly public space (RPTRA) has been offering free night classes on various school subjects.
“We thought it would be better for the children to study together at night rather than just play like they usually do,” RPTRA Sindang Raya spokesperson Dewi Murniati told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
Seven classes are currently being held at the RPTRA, each designated to cater to a specific age group.
“We have seven classes in total. We have a class for young children, for kids under the age of 5. We also have six classes for elementary school students, who are divided by grade level at school, from first grade up to sixth grade,” Dewi said.
The lessons are carried out on the terrace of the RPTRA Sindang Raya. Students sit on the floor in front of small plastic tables. They are divided into smaller groups according to their grade and each group has its own volunteer teacher from local youth organization Karang Taruna who has the use of a whiteboard. The sounds of chatter and teachers explaining their lessons fill up the room as there are now partitions separating the classes.
The night lessons are held twice a week, on Wednesday and Sunday from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. In each session, students learn math, science and other subjects they are learning at school.
“We purposely teach them the same lessons from school so that they won’t get confused and they can perform better at school tests. Once in a while, we will play educational movies on a projector and have storytelling time so the students won’t get bored,” Dewi said.
She added that residents of Koja district had been very enthusiastic about the program.
“At first, only a few students signed up. Now, we have 70 to 80 students.”
Mulyati, 42, who lives close to the RPTRA, is one of the many parents who have signed their children up for the evening lessons. On Wednesday night, she sat in one corner of the terrace and watched her 6-year-old son, Zaki, as learned about numbers.
“My son won’t study rigorously if I don’t wait for him at the RPTRA, so each Wednesday and Sunday after work, I drop him off here, wait while he has his lesson and bring him home afterward. It’s tiring, but I am really glad to see him enjoy the lessons,” Mulyati told the Post.
She explained that her son always attended both Wednesday and Sunday classes and excitedly asked her to take him to the RPTRA every time. Mulyati said she had also seen improvements in her son after attending the evening classes.
“Previously, he only studied with me at home. But after joining the night classes, I saw improvements in my son’s behavior and math and reading skills. He can read long sentences and texts now; he is also getting better at socializing with friends,” she said.
One of the students, Sifa, a 10-year-old fifth-grader at a nearby school, said her grades had improved after joining the lessons. She said she enjoyed the night lessons, especially math and storytelling sessions, so she did not mind the commuting with an angkot (public minivan) to attend them.
“I don’t take any extra lessons besides this, and my test scores at school have gotten better. I love studying here because I can meet a lot of friends. My mom usually drops me off in the RPTRA before the lessons, but I have to take an angkot with my friends to go home,” Sifa said.
However, the program has not been without hurdles since it started since months ago.
Dita, a 21-year-old university student who volunteers at the program said teaching the children had been quite challenging because of the lack of walls or separators between classes.
“It’s hard for me to explain the lessons as it can get very loud in the RPTRA during classes. Because there are no separators, the children can clearly hear the sounds from other classes and get easily distracted because they can also see their friends in other classes. They often get restless after they see the kindergarten group going home earlier because they have already finished their lessons,” Dita said.
Meanwhile, Dewi also said that she struggled to find more teachers to volunteer at the program.
“We need more teachers because it’s hard to handle so many students with the number of teachers we currently have. Sometimes, we even struggle to find a substitute when a teacher is unable to come.”
Despite the limitations, however, Dewi said the RPTRA was currently searching for ways to further develop the program.
“Recently, we received stationery and volunteer teachers from state-owned oil and gas holding company Pertamina as part of its corporate social responsibility program. We are also planning to apply more innovative teaching methods like interactive games, and we are also arranging tests for the near future to track the students’ progress,” Dewi said.
