Students gather to hear the the results of the Regional Standard School/Madrasah Examinations at state elementary school Bendungan Hilir 12 Pagi in Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta, Wednesday (14/6). All of the school’s students have pass the exams and are entitled to continue their study at junior high school.
PADANG, KOMPAS – The government does not need to rush implementation of the five-day school week. Many things need to be considered beforehand, as the policy could potentially be troublesome for millions of elementary-secondary students across the country, as well as their parents.
“Even if it has to be implemented, it should start with a pilot project in a specific region,” said Ganefri, rector of Padang State University, West Sumatera, Wednesday (14/6).
According to the vocational education professor, instead of forcing the policy to be implemented in July, the government should focus on fixing education facilities and infrastructure. “I see that not all regions are ready. If it is forced, I am worried that it will not go as hoped and become a burden for a lot of people all over Indonesia,” he said.
Furthermore, Ganefri added, implementation of the five-day school week will have a direct impact on local cultures, especially for families in rural areas. “In villages, children are often still expected to help with the family’s living. If students go home in the afternoon, it will disrupt them,” Ganefri said.
Education and Culture Minister Regulation No. 23/2017 states that school days will consist of eight hours a day, or 40 school hours over five days (Monday to Friday). This means that schools effectively start at 7:00 a.m. and finish at 3:00 p.m.This regulation is set to be implemented for the 2017/2018 school year starting July. The policy is part of the Character Building Education (PPK) policy.
Chairman of the Association of Constitutional/State Administration Law Teachers, M Mahfud MD, asked for the plan to be reconsidered. He pointed out that a number of regions had madrasah diniyah (Islamic schools),which run from 2:00-5:00 p.m.
“If children go to school from morning until afternoon, it is feared that madrasah diniyah will disappear. Madrasah diniyah is important and many of them are still around in Indonesia,” said Mahfud after the Pancasila Day Seminar at Sultan Maulana Hasanuddin State Islamic University in Banten, Serang.
Study first
Head of the Religious Affairs Ministry’s Banten office, Bazari Syam, said that his office was responding to the idea of the five-day school week with caution. “It needs to be studied first,” he said.
Meanwhile,West Sumatera deputy governor Nasrul Abitmaish is waiting for a decision by the central government. “If it is implemented, maybe it will be a burden for schools at first, before they get used to it,” Nasrul said.
The East Java Education Agency head in Banyuwangi, Istu Handono, said that 75 percent of Banyuwangi’s senior- and vocational high schools were preparing to apply the five-day school week policy. “A few schools have even declared they are fully ready,” he said.
Istu added that the schools ready to implement the policy included SMA Negeri 1 Glagah and SMA Negeri 1 Giri. However, he also said that some schools were finding difficulties in implementing the policy.
Banyuwangi Education Agency head Sulihtiyanto said that a number of schools had started to build canteens, because students would eat lunch at school before taking part in the afternoon extracurricular activities.
The Education and Culture Ministry’s director general for elementary and middle school education, Hamid Muhammad, said that information on the policy was being disseminated to education agencies in the regions. Regional administrations and school management were asked to prepare resources gradually to support the implementation of the five-day school week policy. The diversity of school systems and geographical conditions were being taken into consideration.
The ministry’s communication and public service head, Ari Santoso, rejected the idea that the five-day school week policy aimed to abolish religious education. “In fact, religious education will be further enforced through extracurricular activities,” he said.
