Education

Better education accessible

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In a recent conversation with a good friend who has been a teacher for more than 20 years I was
surprised to hear him talk very openly about the "education industry".

This was a surprise because I had always thought of him as somebody who had very high ideals
for and about education. He trained as a teacher and gained a Master's degree in education and
has had a really distinguished career in teaching: heading departments and rising to become a
headmaster.

He has taught on no less than four continents and is now working in Indonesia and, it looks like,
he is very much enjoying his time as part of what he sees as "a really vibrant and growing
education industry in the country". I had always seen him as a person who saw education as a
great gift and being a teacher as being a calling rather than just making money. He now though
seems to have a slightly different perception.

He is seeing the spread of international curricula and teaching methods and practices and this is
something that he calls "the globalization of education". I am not sure whether "globalization"
and "education" really work well together for me as a positive expression. There are, in my mind,
some concerns and misgivings about globalization but I think I understand the general gist of
what he is suggesting.

Education has certainly become more international in its flavor within Jakarta and some other
cities around Indonesia. The number of international schools seems to be growing at a stunning
rate. Recent reports suggest that in 2008, the Ministry of Education granted licenses to more than
200 new school projects that would include international education.

What does this mean in the field? Well, there are concerns that there are too many people getting
involved in schools and perhaps that figure of 200 new school licenses is a representation of that
kind of problem. It is perhaps much too easy to grant licenses. It is far more difficult to actually
be able to deliver international education.

But this does not mean that good things are not happening in international education in and for
Indonesia. There may be some school projects that are neither well founded nor well managed
but the truth of the matter is that they will and are being found out and they will fail and fall by
the wayside.

What is far more useful is the way in which a more diverse and widespread approach to
education is being created for Indonesia. This seems quite appropriate when we think of the
Indonesian motto "Unity in Diversity". All of these successful international schools that are
applying international curricula are all headed in the same direction of providing quality
education and so there is a unity about them and what they are trying to do.

This does, however, leave room for that diversity and diverse approaches to education.
International curricula and programs of study are being applied from Australia and the United
Kingdom and other countries that have an international approach to education are also being
represented in Indonesia. I recently heard of a new school that will be following a Canadian
curriculum. We should though recognize that nations may be represented by these curricula but
there is the key internationalism to what they are doing.

These international curricula often and quite consistently address international citizenship and
promote a global awareness. This may well be what my friend is referring to when he speaks of
"the globalization of education". This means that a truly international mind-set is being
introduced and promoted through schools like this and this can only be a good thing.

Another very positive development from these kinds of schools is that they will help to develop a
pool of human resources that will help education generally. Teachers that have to teach in these
schools are using a very different curriculum and are learning to use different approaches to
helping their students understand.

All of this means that Indonesia is getting a greater choice of what it can do educationally. The
national system of education has had its critics but it is adapting and being influenced by what is
happening internationally. This means that more Indonesians are getting access to a better
education.

The writer is an education consultant in Sydney, Australia.

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Seventeen-year-old Sufyan Suri could not hide his enthusiasm when he spoke of his dream to
become a teacher.

The high school graduate from Kotabaru, South Kalimantan, leaned forward and used hand
gestures to emphasize Indonesia's need for more skilled teachers and to redefine its teacher-
student relationship.

"There is a gap between teachers and students that restricts them from effectively communicating
with each other," he told The Jakarta Post at the Sampoerna School of Education college in
Jakarta on Wednesday. "We need to change this.

"Students should feel comfortable approaching their teachers."

Sufyan and 88 other students, all from underprivileged families, were granted scholarships
yesterday from Indonesia's first private teachers college.

Forty-three students received full scholarships worth more than Rp 223 million (US$23,000)
each. The remaining 46 were granted scholarships that covered their tuition fees for four years,
worth Rp 168 million each.

The students were selected out of 1,200 applicants to major in mathematics or English at the
undergraduate institution. Seventy-one students were from Java, 14 from Sumatra, two from Bali
and two from Kalimantan.

Paulina Pannen, the school's dean, said she wanted to ensure students were provided with the
skills to become highly qualified teachers, exceeding international standards.

The school has teamed up with Iowa University in the US, Nanyang Technological University in
Singapore, and Massey University in New Zealand to develop its curriculum.

"We encourage our students to research and develop innovative teaching methodologies," she
said.

The school has been structured to qualify students as senior high school teachers. To aid their
learning, the school requires students to complete an internship, teaching in high schools for one
semester in their final year.
"Our students will teach in one of the 17 state senior high schools and five Madrasah *Muslim
schools* that the Sampoerna Foundation supports," she said.

The foundation, established by tobacco giant PT Hanjaya Mandala Sampoerna, has been
providing schools with assistance to improve teacher quality through its United Schools
Program.

Muchlas, from the Directorate of Higher Education at the National Education Ministry, said he
hoped the school would enhance education in each of Indonesia's regions.

"I would like to see the school's graduates return to their respective regions to improve education
across the country," he added.

Paulina said she strongly encouraged her students to apply their knowledge in their hometowns.
She said that was where teachers were needed because schools in cities had "relatively adequate
facilities" and many skilled teachers.

"Sampoerna graduates will be great assets to their regions because they are being trained to
become highly skilled teachers," she added.

Sufyan said he looked forward to teaching in his hometown.

"We must give back to our communities and help them to prosper," he said. (adh)