The new policy consists of four points with the most controversial being his plan to scrap the national exam starting in 2021 and replace it with a “competency assessment”.
nly a day after he introduced his new education policy, which received a mixed reaction from the public, Education and Culture Minister Nadiem Makarim was grilled on Thursday by legislators at the House of Representatives.
Many of them questioned the minister about his new policy, one element of which is his plan to scrap the national exam (UN) starting in 2021 and replace it with a competency assessment. They also questioned the possibility of the minister introducing a new curriculum, which has been applied in a private school in Jakarta, nationwide.
“What do you mean by competency assessment? A character survey? It will all surely be carried out by teachers. Are our teachers prepared for it?” asked Syaiful Huda, chairman of House Commission X overseeing education, during the hearing on Thursday.
Separately, House Speaker Puan Maharani also called on the education minister to explain his new policy to the public thoroughly to avoid confusion.
Legislator Rano Karno of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) said he had heard the minister would adopt a learning practice being applied in a private school in Jakarta and implement it in schools nationwide.
“I think it will be too hard [to adopt the practice of one school and implement in across the country]. Please think again,” Rano said at the same hearing.
The hearing was held particularly to hear firsthand from Minister Nadiem regarding his introduction on Wednesday of his education policy called “Merdeka Belajar” or Freedom to Learn.
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