Curriculum Change In Indonesia: A Critical Review

During two decades, educational curriculum in Indonesia often changes namely Curriculum of 1994, Competence-Based Curriculum (KBK), and Curriculum of Educational Unit Level (KTSP) respectively. The transformation is an effort of Government to raise educational system. Educational and Cultural Ministry (Kemdikbud) will recently change educational curriculum and will be implemented at 2013/2014, where existence of educational system in the KTSP didn’t agree with period development (Kompas, 5/9/2012).

Conceptually substance in the each curriculum is very effective to progress educational system in Indonesia, however practically teachers aren’t responsive and feel confuse to the transformation, so that many teachers don’t agree with the idea. There is a stigma, the more frequently curriculum transformation, the greater teacher’s problem.

Actually educational curriculum is always dinamic in wihich it follows various demands of period development. Information technology now develops so fast, so that teachers must follow the developments and can use the technology as references and learning media. However, basic problems are that students and educational facilities in Indonesia vary according to each of region, for example culture, social, economic, and intelectuality. Maybe educational facilities in urban area are more completely than rural area, and teachers in Java Island are more proportionally than other Islands.

The evidence looks real from existence of 3T’s jadwal where the jadwal was implemented at 2011 by Government collaborated with some Universities (eks-IKIP) to recruit fresh graduates in Java. The graduates were sent to NTT, Aceh, and other Provinces to teach in schools because the schools had less teacher. The effort indicates that teacher in the Province is very little and isn’t proportional, so that this must be noticed and understood by Government concerning this problem.

Purpose of National Education

Plan of main goal in new curriculum will be pursposed to thematic, where it is hoped to develop tree important competences namely attitude, skill, and knowledge; in addition, attitude education will be pressured to elementary level, so that its consequence will decrease some lessons and change teaching pattern to become easier than before (Suara Merdeka 29/9/2012). Properly the purpose isn’t only written in the Curriculum only, but it needs real implementation. Because of student’s criminality recently, attitude education ough to be applied to all educational levels so that it can reduce student’s criminality.

Purpose of national education in Undang Undang RI Nomor 20 tahun 2003 about National Education System is “to develop student’s potential so that he becomes faithfull man to God and has good attitude, health, smart, capable, crative, independent and becomes democratic citizen and has responsible”. It can be inferred that not only to derive tree competences, but also to get attitude education are very important to be applied.

If it is viewed basically, educational purpose which will be achieved by Indonesian Government are to educate people’s lives. Therefore, Government since new orde (orde baru) has already provide wide opportunity to all Indonesian citizens to derive education. This agrees with UUD 1945 pasal 31 ayat 1 namely “each Indonesia citizen has a rigth to get teaching”. This indicates that each student in various regions in Indonesia has a same opportunity to derive teaching and educational facility, so that Government must realize substance in the UUD.

Recommendation

Transformation of curriculum isn’t easy, but it needs judgment comprehensivelly which agree with real condition. Where various impacts will possibly occur, it can also come out APBN. With new curriculum, it will possibly increase new problems to students and teachers, because they must quickly adapt to the curriculum.  Although the purpose which is hoped by Ministry is a teaching pattern easily, it is possibly not successfull. This will effect various problems if Government hurries to change educational curriculum.

Progress of educational system ough to be started from increasing teachers’s capability with increasing their prosperities. How will the teachers teach perfectly if their prosperities are little? Many teachers in Indonesia still have poor economic condition, so that they must be appreciated highly because of their commitments and responsibilities to serve to Indonesian Government. Teachers play important role to raise student’s achievement, however, so far thier existences are still underestimated. Although there was a jadwal of teacher’s proffesion recently, honorary-teacher’s prosperity is still not yet maximal, because many teachers have a side job to meet their life demands. Exactly, transformation of curriculum will increase masalah to teachers.

In addition, donation from Government must be increased their quantities to be allocated to schools which have not yet a complete facilitiy, so that the donation can raise student’s achievement, for example using information technology such as learning media will provide contribution toward information generalization which is taught by teachers and will decrease student’s verbalism.

If Government will really change curriculum with various judgments, I have some recommendations namely (i) new curriculum doesn’t increase masalah to teachers, and the curriculum can be easily understood by teachers; (ii) attitude education must be applied to all education levels, from elementary level up to university level; (iii) the curriculum must agree with each of local-school condition because each region in Indonesia varies culture, economic, competence, and facility; (iv) the curriculum can progress educational system in Indonesia, so that alumni can compete with other nations.