Little
Notice: International schools will be subject to sweeping changes, including to
their names and operations, as of today
Jakarta Globe, Dec 01, 2014
Jakarta. A little-known but far-reaching regulation kicks in today that threatens to water down the quality of education at some of Indonesia’s top schools, and could see the schools shut down unless they drop the “international” from their name.
The Jakarta International School. (JG Photo/Yudhi Sukma Wijaya) |
Jakarta. A little-known but far-reaching regulation kicks in today that threatens to water down the quality of education at some of Indonesia’s top schools, and could see the schools shut down unless they drop the “international” from their name.
Under an
Education Ministry regulation issued in May this year, all international
schools in the country have until Dec. 1 to comply with sweeping changes in how
they can operate, which the ministry contends is aimed at weeding out
low-quality schools that charge a premium by adding “international” to their
name.
“The
regulation was issued because many schools here claim to be international
schools, when in fact their quality and what they teach are no different from
what regular schools offer,” Ibnu Hamad, a ministry spokesman, said on Sunday.
He added
that this applied even if the schools really did offer an international
curriculum or were internationally accredited.
“They can
explain elsewhere that they use an international curriculum or whatever, but
they can’t use ‘international’ in their name,” Ibnu told the Jakarta Globe.
This would
apply to the Jakarta International School, widely considered the best school in
the country, and also the likes of the British and Australian international
schools, Ibnu said.
However,
the ministerial regulation states that existing international schools will be
split into two categories: LPA, or foreign education institutions, and SPK, or
joint cooperation schools.
A school
like the British International School would qualify as an LPA because it is
affiliated with a foreign entity, in this case the British Embassy, and hence
would be permitted to keep the “international” in its name.
SPK
schools, which are locally owned but employ an international curriculum or are
internationally accredited, like JIS or Sekolah Pelita Harapan International,
would no longer be allowed to call themselves “international.” Ibnu said JIS
could be renamed “Joint Cooperation School Indonesia-America, Australia and
Britain,” although this seems highly unlikely.
For schools
like JIS that have built a strong international brand, the name-change
regulation could have an adverse effect. However, other stipulations in the
regulation threaten to exacerbate the problem.
For
instance, the regulation obliges SPK schools to provide lessons in Islam,
Indonesian language, civic education and Indonesian history to their Indonesian
students.
These same
students will also have to take the much-despised national exams at the end of
the sixth, ninth and 12th grades — something they have been spared so far as
students at schools running international curricula.
Indonesian
students will also be barred from LPA schools, which will only be open to
citizens of the foreign entity/embassy affiliated with the school.
Foreign
students at SPK schools, meanwhile, will be required to study Indonesian
language and culture.
“That will
allow them to have an intercultural and multicultural understanding of
Indonesia,” Ibnu said.
In
addition, any SPK wanting to teach subjects involving a religion outside of the
six officially recognized by the government must obtain permission from the
Religious Affairs Ministry.
While the
deadline for schools to comply with all the changes is today, the Education
Ministry has said nothing about accommodating those affected by the changes —
especially the students.
It is
unclear whether Indonesian students at LPA schools like British International
or Australian International will now have to drop out, or whether 12th graders
at SPK schools like JIS and SPH will have to take the national exams in May, on
top of having to complete their International Baccalaureate program.
The new
education minister, Anies Baswedan, has indicated he will not stop the new
rules from going into place, saying on Saturday that he had not received any
objections from schools affected by the regulation.
The
regulation, conceived at least two years ago, was part of a wider push by the
Education Ministry in the Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono administration to make the
national education system reflect “Indonesian values,” including by putting
more emphasis on civics, morality and Islamic education, as in the new and
much-criticized curriculum introduced in 2013.
Critics say
the new direction that the Indonesian education system is being dragged toward
essentially dumbs down the system, threatening to undermine the competitiveness
of Indonesian graduates in an increasingly globalized world.
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