National Exam commonly abbreviated as UN/UNAS is a standard evaluation system of primary and secondary education in Indonesia and the equation of quality of education levels. There are subjects that require and determine a high minimum competency achievement, while other subjects did not specify that high. This situation becomes unfair for students, because students have their own capabilities, the subjects examined are not the representative of all, and it neglects the local potential of each area in Indonesia.
As initial, every student is unique and has his/her own capability. The competence of students is not only in cognitive area, but also affective and psychomotor ones. They have not to able in math only, but they can be good in sport or music. Ronaldo, Messi, and Rhoma Irama are the example of success people in their capacity although they do not get the high score in math, physics, and chemistry. In short, there is no body stupid in this world and national exam is not relevant to judge that someone passes the graduate or not.
The next reason, six subjects for senior high school and four subjects for junior high school is not the representative of all subjects in three years learning. In three years learning, students have learnt many things, cognitive as well as affective and psychomotor. Ki Hadjar Dewantara said education is about “educating the head, the heart, and the hands”.[1] Three years of studying a dozen subjects and students’ future is decided by only six or four subjects. This is not fair. As I have noted, all of subjects in three years learning have to be the tool in knowing student capability.
The last reason, national exam neglects the local potential of each area in Indonesia. As it is named the national examinations, there should be uniformity and standardization across the nation. But, should education neglect the local potential of each area? As an archipelago with more than 17,000 islands, Indonesia has different ethnic groups that are too rich and too diverse to be unified. There are many differences, condition of school and culture of education, in Indonesia that can not be generalized. In Java, education takes big portion and attention in the family, but it does not in other area, like Papua. The ministry should not give the same questions to students all over Indonesia, whose schools, teachers and education processes differ from one another? In other word, the gap between the quality of teaching in urban and rural areas is very wide and national exam is not relevant for Indonesian education.
All in all, national exam as the requirement and graduate determinant is not relevant and has been a cause of students and the parents’ stress toward the exam. Government should know that the exams are given as a measure of the education standards they can expect at the school. Graduating from high school should be determined by those teaching at the school, and not the state.
by: Muhammad Zamhari
[1] Theo Riyanto, Pemikiran Ki Hajar Dewantara Tentang Pendidikan, http://bruderfic.or.id/h-59/pemikiran-ki-hajar-dewantara-tentang-pendidikan.html tanggal 9 Mei 2012
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