the failure education in papua highlands

7/23/2019 The Failure Education in Papua Highlands

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The failure education in papua

highlands

A student at the private Ob Anggen school, Bokondini, Tolikara.Bobby Anderson

Under Papua’s 2001 Special Autonomy Law, the majority of Papua’s natural resource

wealth is returned to the province. The law was meant to address both the sources of

political unrest in Papua, and the challenges ordinary Papuans experience on a daily

basis. For example, it was meant to increase Papuan access to government jobs andeconomic opportunities, as well as to health and education services. A dozen years and

billions of dollars later, most Papuans still live in misery: they have the highest

malnutrition, tuberculosis and HIV rates in Indonesia; they are the poorest; and they have

the lowest rate of life expectancy.

Special autonomy has failed. But the greatest failure has little to do with the aspects of

special autonomy that were implemented by Jakarta. Rather, it is the parts of special

autonomy that were handed over to provincial and district officials: health and education

services.

The autonomy cash cow

Many local officials and elites no longer see special autonomy as a means of

development. For them, it is a way to access greater national subsidies, which they can

take for themselves or spread through their patronage networks. For the elite, affirmative

action is no longer a means to redress the under-representation of Papuans in official

positions; instead, it is another way of milking the system. ‘No-show’ jobs have

proliferated. Papua now has more than double the number of civil servants that it

actually requires. This is an obvious benefit for those who get the jobs, but it has little

value for those still locked out.

The failings of special autonomy are enhanced by the uncontrolled creation of new

districts, sub-districts and villages under the process known as ‘pemekaran’

(proliferation).. In theory, pemekaran intends to make smaller government entities more

accountable. In reality, it simply allows local elites to access funds while pushing



ordinary Papuans further away from the services that could improve their lives. Special

autonomy has created a dividing line between Papuan elites who benefit directly from it,

and the majority of Papuans, who receive a pittance.

In previous articles (Living without a state;The middle of nowhere; Land of ghosts), I

have explored particular regions in Papua’s highlands and lowlands. I have tried to bring

to light the struggles and concerns of the people who live there – struggles which are

divorced from the political discourses that many outsiders mistakenly believe are

paramount in the lives of most Papuans. Now I aim to explain how Papuan governments

are dealing with their people’s most pressing concerns in the era of special autonomy. In

this article, I will discuss how and why the educational system has collapsed in the

highlands. I will look at similar failings in healthcare in a later article.

The death of a system

In Papua’s highlands, the interplay of misused special autonomy funding; pemekaran;

flawed human resource management; and local understandings of the nature of

education, have combined to break the educational system. Almost nobody

acknowledges these problems. Instead, a pantomime occurs where many government

officials blame the poor education system, lack of infrastructure, or even highland

children themselves. Because of this misunderstanding of the problem, the solutions

offered are flawed.

Papua’s 2010/11 provincial development plan for basic and secondary education(RPDP)

indicates that school enrolment for children aged between seven and 12 throughout the

province is 73 per cent. In other words, at least 100,000 out of the 400,000 children in

the province are not in school. Junior secondary enrolment is 55 per cent and senior

secondary just 37 per cent.

A grimmer and more realistic picture of Papua’s failing educational system in remote

areas can be found in Yahukimo, a pemekaran district in the highlands (profiled in my

earlier articles, ‘Living without a state’ and‘The middle of nowhere’). District Department

of Education figures indicate that only 18 per cent of children complete primary school

there. Worse still, completing primary school is no guarantor of literacy. The majority of

highland high school graduates are barely literate.

A brief history of highland education

http://www.insideindonesia.org/living-without-a-state-3

http://www.insideindonesia.org/the-middle-of-nowhere-3


http://www.insideindonesia.org/land-of-ghosts













Outside of towns and coastal areas like Sarmi, Biak, and Yapen, the failure of Papua’s

education system is systemic. This is especially so in the highlands, but it was not

always this way. The education system in the Papuan highlands has as its foundation

literacy programs founded by various churches and missionary groups beginning in the

1950s. These missionaries studied tribal languages, adapted them to the roman

alphabet, and translated the Bible into those languages. Literacy was a tool to spread the

gospel, and missionaries took teaching it seriously.

The Dutch rulers of Papua recognised the inability of their colonial administration to

provide education to highlanders and so they tasked the churches to do so. They paid

teacher salaries on site through these bodies. These missionaries laid the foundations of

educational traditions in some mission areas like Pyramid and Ninia, traditions that

continue today. They established schools in Wamena and Sentani, which are nowadayssome of the best schools in Papua. In these early schools, second-language instruction

was in Dutch until 1962. After that Bahasa Indonesia was taught. To ensure standards

across institutions, an education coordinating body, the Association of Christian Schools

(YPPGI), was founded.

It is important to note that this church-led system never reached the majority of children

and youth in rural and highland areas. These were a series of small, well-functioning

schools scattered widely in rural areas, with disparate populations of the most remote

areas unable to access such services. Most rural Papuans remained out of school. Many

children started, but few finished school. Government statistics from 2006 indicate that

56 per cent of the indigenous Papuan provincial population had less than a primary-level

education. Twenty-five per cent were illiterate.

After the Dutch departed, the Indonesian authorities kept this arrangement in place at

first. In the 1980s, the state began to take over both the schools and the YPPGI.

Teachers became government employees, and the schools adopted the national

curriculum. At that time, the government also assumed control of the missionary-run

health care systems. When the government assumed control of these systems, many in

the church felt that they could simply focus on their ‘real’ job of preaching the gospel.

However, the government never really took over anything. There was no real process to

hand over these institutions. In the best-case scenario, services declined. In the worst

case, they stopped. When the churches gave up their social role, their authority also

declined.

The education system weakened further at the fall of the New Order regime in 1998, andthe beginning of decentralisation. Responsibility was shifted from provincial to district



officials, who were unprepared for such a shift. No proper handover occurred, except in

titles. The system began to fail in the highlands in 2000, when dozens of killings of

migrants in the region led to the flight of most migrant civil servants from the area –

medical and school staff among them. The rapid ‘Papuanisation’ of the system under

affirmative action was not based on credentials; unqualified persons were slotted into

jobs on the basis of their clan affiliations rather than their skills. This was bad enough in

existing districts. In new districts created under pemekaran, services collapsed.

Schools aren’t the problem: teachers are

When people speak about problems of education in Papua, they automatically assume

that the problem is infrastructure: there must be no schools. This is a false assumption.

Papua has an overabundance of schools. Primary school (SD) buildings have increased

from 1895 in 2006 to 2179 in 2010; high school/vocational school (SMA/SMK) buildings

increased from 159 in 2005 to 272 in 2011. With the exception of Sinokla (profiled in

‘The middle of nowhere’), every remote area I have visited has school buildings. Mostly

they are brand new. And locked. Most special autonomy funds spent on education in

rural and remote areas go firstly on salaries, and, then secondly on these new buildings.

And yet politicians continue to promise to build schools in order to provide education.

With regard to administrative costs, Papua also officially has an abundance of teachers.

Provincial records indicate that there are now 15,713 primary school teachers, 6188

junior high school teachers, 3410 senior high school teachers, and 1914 technical high

school teachers on the payroll. According to official Papuan documents, the province has

one teacher for every 23 students; this is not far from the national average of 18 students

per teacher. In the highlands, however, most of these teachers do not show up for work.

To say that ‘teacher absenteeism is a problem’ is to pretend that the system functions,

albeit with an ‘absenteeism’ handicap. Outside of Papua, ‘absenteeism’ means a teacher

might skip a Friday, or not turn up for a day or two within a fortnight’s teaching. In Papua,a teacher might skip a semester. In my research, and in the experience of my colleagues

in Papua who work in a variety of state and non-state schools, our observations reveal

that most students will attend class when the teacher is physically present. As a

consequence, classes with actual teachers are overcrowded, with more than 50 students

per class.

We automatically blame teacher absenteeism on the lack of support and facilities

available to hired teachers. This is partly true, but the reasons are manifold and vary by

area. Even so, some generalisations can be made. Firstly, teachers are not automatically



assigned to their areas of origin or residence. Local people in their duty stations often

look down upon teachers because they have different tribal or clan affiliations. This can

make for an uncomfortable posting.

Secondly, teacher absenteeism does not result in sanctions. Indonesia’s national law on

teachers and lecturers, Law No. 14 of 2005, article 30, states that teachers absent from

their jobs for at least a month can be dismissed. But enforcement of this provision falls to

district officials, who are uniformly unwilling to enforce it.

Third, teachers are not paid on site, nor are they provided with transportation costs

reflective of the cost of transport in their assigned areas. They may be paid in a district

capital that is an hour’s flight or five day’s walk from their posting. Fourth, their salaries

are inadequate. This is often because a portion is siphoned off by the administrationbefore they are paid (this varies by areas: in some areas, this does not occur, whilst in

others, the majority of teachers’ wages are mislaid).

A fifth problem is that there are simply no additional support structures in place: a

teacher who wants to teach may find himself or herself alone in a school, with no

administrators, other teachers or materials. Teachers assigned to remote areas often do

not want to relocate their families because there is usually no healthcare in such

locations (though there’s often a vicious cycle here: there might not be a functioning

healthcare centre because the healthcare workers do not want to relocate because there

is no functioning school).

A final problem is inadequate housing. Newly constructed houses for teachers generally

disintegrate within a year or two (interestingly, the old missionary homes built in the

1950s still stand).

This litany of problems presents real obstacles. And yet, they cannot explain all of the

problems in the education system. Many teachers are local hires, and for themaccommodation, transportation, clan ties and separation from families are not issues. Yet

many of these teachers are also not teaching. Further, district officials have the power,

and the funding, to change this system. If they wanted to, they could hire local teachers,

and they have the means at their disposal to pay on site and to fire teachers for

absenteeism. They do not.

After wrestling with this issue for months, eventually I realised that the explanation was

simple: the people who were given these positions are not actually expected to teach. As

I described in ‘Land of ghosts’, local officials, especially in pemekaran areas, award



teaching jobs to supporters and clan members. These are no-show jobs, and everybody

knows it. The reason why difficulties in duty stations are not addressed is not that people

are unaware of the problems. They are not addressed in order to provide people with

plenty of excuses not to work. In many places, teachers and school administrators have

drawn salaries for years - sometimes for a decade - without showing up for work. In the

highlands, the majority of these civil servants who are missing from their remote postings

can be found living comfortably in Wamena or the district capitals. Some of the teachers

run private childcare centres there.

Seeking solutions

In some instances, governmental and civil society representatives have tried to repair

this system. A local NGO offered the district governments of Jayawijaya and Yahukimo a

system whereby they would monitor teacher attendance and control salary payments.

The heads of both districts accepted the proposition, but then relented, so as not to lose

the political and clan support these absentee workers offer. In another instance, the new

Jayawijaya head of education stopped the salaries of chronically absent teachers - and

those same teachers successfully petitioned the district head (bupati) to reinstate their

salaries.

Missionary schools seem to be the only effective schools in the highlands. But they are

not generally accredited by local government education authorities. This alternative

system represents a threat to absent teachers and administrators within the area, a few

of whom run private facilities and therefore sometimes attempt to close the missionary

schools. In Bokondini, one absentee teacher runs a for-profit private school across the

street from the government school where she is supposed to teach, but has not set foot

in for years. Ironically, her own children are enrolled in the nearby missionary school set

up by outsiders as an alternative to the failing system which she is a part of. This is good

insurance for the missionary school; that same teacher once advocated the closure ofthe missionary school because she viewed it as competition to her for-profit business.

A flawed solution to tough conditions for teachers in the highlands can be found in

boarding schools: a few in Wamena and Sentani offer superior education, and some

missionaries and local officials advocate increasing the numbers of private institutions

where children may be sent. But these entities are private institutions that provide high

quality education for a minority of children whose parents can pay for it. Scaling up the

schools would mean broadening the pupil base, which would require lower fees or state

subsidies in the form of scholarships. This would require increased class sizes, more



teachers, expanded facilities, and the agreement of private administrators who rightfully

fear that ‘scaling up’ will result in a decline in the quality of services. Other private

institutions would not offer anywhere near the quality of the original institutions. It is also

unrealistic to expect the state to be able to create a new layer of elite schools, given the

performance of existing, non-boarding schools.

In addition to boarding schools in the province, there are also institutions outside Papua.

For example, Jakarta’s Surya Institute takes children from Tolikara and other areas of

Papua and trains them intensively in maths and science. This approach has produced

children who win at international mathematics competitions, helping to break the

stereotypes that many outsiders have about Papuans. But it’s an approach that comes

with a price. Encouraging Papuans to send their children away in their formative years

breaks their connections with their families and communities.

More common than boarding schools is the practice of unaccompanied children trekking

long distances to places with functioning schools. Wamena is full of ‘student hostels’,

each owned by a church from a specific highland area, where children who have

travelled to Wamena to enroll in school may stay. However, these hostels are generally

used as flophouses for anyone from the area of origin. They are public health threats,

with no supervision, open defecation on the grounds, and no running water. As well as

being transmission centres for tuberculosis, they are unsafe for children, especially girls,

and rapes commonly occur in them. Drug use, especially the inhalation of solvents, is

also alarmingly common in such hostels.

Contextual curriculums?

Another flawed solution offered to fix problems of education in Papua can be found in the

drive for ‘contextual curriculums’ (‘kurikulum kontekstual’ or ‘kurikulum khusus’) in

Papuan schools. The need for such curriculums is frequently mentioned by stateeducation officials, local NGOs and donors. Such curriculums have value when they

focus on language. Indigenous Papuan children do not speak Indonesian at home,

although they do tend to pick up plenty of Indonesian vocabulary before they first enter

primary school. The first day of school in a functioning curriculum that uses only Bahasa

Indonesia is a daunting one for indigenous children. They immediately find themselves at

a disadvantage to the children of migrants who speak Indonesian at home.

One foundation in the Highlands, Yayasan Kristen Wamena (YKW), identified roughly

1000 Indonesian words that local children were familiar with and built a first and second-



year curriculum in mathematics and Indonesian based upon these words. Some of this

curriculum was also in Dani. This YKW curriculum was aligned to national standards,

and the response of local children to it was extremely positive. They were less

intimidated and advanced faster. This curriculum has since been adapted in numerous

highland districts. But in remote areas, the books produced by YKW risk becoming food

for silverfish, because the core problems of human resources remain.

Many proponents of a contextual curriculum take their argument too far. They say that

the national curriculum does not account for the Papuan ‘context’, and that children

cannot relate to what is being taught, and so they lose interest. It is as though images of

‘straight-haired’ children and unknown machines such as ships and trains are such a

turn-off for Papuan children that they simply walk out of the classroom to go and play

with rocks. Such an argument would be laughable if it did not have a disturbingly racistundertone. What’s even more disturbing is how often such arguments are made by

Papuan teachers and administrators. By the same argument, one could eliminate from a

curriculum everything not visible to the naked eye: planets, bacteria, even history beyond

living memory. Highland children are like children the world over: innately curious

sponges that absorb the information which fascinates them. The real issue is not their

capability, but what they are being denied by a failing system.

A flawed understanding of education

In rural Papua, parents and children tolerate this system because all too many of them

do not have an adequate concept of what classroom education is intended to impart.

They have never seen a functioning state school. Of the older highlands generation, a

majority did not have access to the limited church-led system. They are illiterate and had

minimal or no schooling. For illiterate parents, education is not the acquisition of practical

knowledge through systematic instruction. Instead, it is just one more supernatural key to

advancement and wealth in an animistic belief system full of such devices. It ispossessed by the teachers, and its acquisition is purchased from the teacher over time

by means such as ceremonies and gift-giving, rather than by study.

This is how it looks to many parents in rural areas: Parents send their children to school.

The children show up to a building once a week or less, at the appointed time. They then

go home, more or less straight away. There are no classes: anyone who has spent time

in the highlands marvels at the school grounds filled with kids in ratty uniforms playing

football, with not a teacher in sight. Every so often a teacher issues a demand: ‘bring

firewood’, or ‘bring cigarettes’. The parents provide the children with these items to take



to school. At the end of the year, the state test is given. The teacher writes the answers

on the board for the children to copy (I have peeked through the dusty, bird dropping-

spattered windows of numerous rural highlands schools and seen the answers written on

the board from the last tests administered; no one has been in the schools since), or the

teachers fill out the exams themselves. The students then go on to the next year.

Finally, upon graduation they receive the diploma - a piece of paper certifying to parents

and students that education has been transferred. The diploma is all-important: it allows

the graduate to obtain a coveted civil service job, where, in the words of one young man

in Bokondini, one ‘never has to work again’. People take the issuance of these diplomas

very seriously. An attempt to fail a child is likely to result in threatening visits by that

child’s parents.

This process ends with high school graduates who cannot read, write or perform basic

mathematics. Universitas Cenderawasih (UNCEN, the best university in the Papua

region) maintains a list of the worst schools in Papua, and refuses to consider anyone

with a diploma from these schools for entry. Other post-secondary schools are not so

discriminatory: this systemic fraud continues through technical and other post-secondary

schooling. It then results in illiterate graduates who sometimes go on to become illiterate

teachers and administrators.

Many post-secondary institutions report that, on average, young adults from rural areas

entering their systems read at a primary school second to third-grade level. In other

words, they have received the equivalent of three years schooling over a twelve-year

period of education. A Christian teacher’s college (STKIP) outside of Wamena provides

one and a half years of intensive remedial literacy and numeracy classes for every

student before the real curriculum begins; all of them need it.

Another NGO working in Yahukimo recruits young Papuan adults to act as teachers’

assistants in rural schools with absentee teachers. These assistants, all volunteers,require basic instruction in mathematics and literacy. And yet they are so eager to learn

that four weeks of intensive classes can advance them through four years of primary

education. The intellectual hunger and passion for self betterment that these young

people display flies in the face of the ‘Papua’ stereotype, and makes the failure of the

education system all the more unforgivable.

Given most students (and their parents) are not aware they are being cheated out of an

education, it can be a shock when they are confronted directly about their lack of

educational achievements. And this does sometimes happen. Motivated teachers still



enter this system. They attempt to teach, and in their classrooms, students who do not

study face consequences. But when those teachers fail students, they are often

threatened by parents angered by the violation of the assumed agreement of exchange.

School buildings have been burned because of such failures. Such idealistic teachers

either surrender to the system, or they leave. Many of them go to work in the parallel

private and missionary systems, where they are paid little. The irony of paid teachers not

teaching while volunteers teach for a pittance, and sometimes nothing at all, is found all

across the highlands.

In many parts of the highlands, alternative groups are fulfilling the demand for education.

Yasumat, a local foundation that specialises in education, health, and governance,

teaches in half of the sub-districts in Yahukimo. Narwastu, another NGO, is staffed by

long-term volunteers from North Sulawesi. It provides the only education in Binime,Memberamo Tengah. Parents have become so enthusiastic about what their children are

learning in this organisation’s schools that Narwastu has created evening classes for the

parents. Ob Anggen, a school in Bokondini, Tolikara, offers an education that may be the

best of its kind, not just in the province, but in all of eastern Indonesia. The success of

these private institutions makes the failure of nearby state schools less tenable. Local

parents, in Bokondini and elsewhere, are beginning to get angry at what they are slowly

recognising to be fraud.

These foundations and church groups aren’t the only ones filling the education gap left

by the state. In another lowland area outside of Jayapura, Holtekamp, the hardline

Islamist group Hizbut Tahrir has established two schools. Their teachers are dutifully

teaching over a hundred indigenous and migrant students every day.

Solutions

Fixing this broken system must involve an acknowledgement of what the real problemsare. And there are no ‘quick fixes’ in the repair. Buildings are not needed. What is

needed is teachers who teach, and district administrators who actually manage schools.

The Law No. 24 provisions about teacher absenteeism need to be enforced, possibly

retroactively. In the feudalistic structure erroneously called ‘decentralisation’, district

heads are all-powerful. They need to be divested of the right to influence human

resources in district schools. It’s one thing to award no-show jobs in the civilian

bureaucracy, where the salaries of such people simply suck funds from the system, but

no-show educators – and healthcare workers – do real harm. Such positions should be

considered off-limits in local patronage games.



Contextual curriculums can be useful, but only with teachers to teach them. Anyone who

continues to blame Papuan children for their lack of education must simply be ignored.

Teachers who do this should be fired.

In 2012, Cenderawasih University and the provincial education office created a draft

provincial regulation to clarify roles and responsibilities in the education sector. The draft

includes scholarships for indigenous students; vocational and technical training

opportunities; employment of local primary teaching assistants in remote areas; and

additional support to teachers in remote areas.

This draft is a start, but it neglects to address the core cause of the failure of the

educational system: ineffective management of human resources. It does not talk about

criteria for hiring teachers; the need to dismiss teachers who are not teaching; and theconsequences for administrators who do not act against absentee teachers. Until this

issue is acknowledged, all other approaches to the problem will remain ineffective. And

children and youth in these areas will continue to be cheated.

New teachers need to be hired, and paid, locally. Additional support for teachers in

remote areas should only go to new teachers or ones who have a record of attending

their schools. Providing teachers who have not taught with additional support in the hope

that they will now teach is not a good idea. This broken system cannot be fixed if such

persons remain within the system, and are bribed for their neglect rather than punished

for it.

Local youth and adults with the ability to read and write at a higher functional level than

usual in their area can be trained as assistant teachers. They can then be responsible

for the education of primary students, and older students not yet functioning at the

primary level. A six-month or one-year training course for such candidates would suffice.

We need to leave computers and English and science for later, and start with the core

foundation of education: reading, writing, and mathematics. Teaching must be inIndonesian and local languages, and utilise a linguistically contextual curriculum such as

the one developed by YKW.

During an interim period of repair of the state system, one option for provincial and

district authorities would be to formally recognise the parallel institutions that were

created to address the education gap. In areas where state schools are not functioning,

such private institutions need to be accredited (as long as they teach the national

curriculum).The volunteers who usually teach in such systems could be put on the



government payroll, but paid through the churches and other private institutions that run

the systems.

It is important to remember that citizens are made in schools. Indonesians do not just

learn reading, writing, and mathematics in school: they learn about Pancasila and what it

means to be an Indonesian, the history of the state and the struggles of its founders.

Such lessons are a counter to radicalism, whether it is of a religious or separatist variety.

In a place where functioning schools are few and far between, and are usually private, is

it any wonder that such a concept of citizenship is lacking?

Bobby Anderson ([email protected]) works on health, education, and

governance projects in Eastern Indonesia, and he travels frequently in Papua province.

The next article in his series will focus on the failure of healthcare in the highlands.

Kegagalan Pendidikan di

dataran tinggi papua

Seorang mahasiswa di sekolah Ob Anggen swasta, Bokondini, Tolikara. Bobby

Anderson



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yang ter#enting dalam kehid!#an kebanyakan orang "a#!a. Sekarang saya

bert!'!an !nt!k men'elaskan bagaimana #emerintah "a#!a ber!r!san dengan

masalah yang #aling mendesak orang-orang mereka di era otonomi kh!s!s."ada artikel ini, saya akan membahas bagaimana dan menga#a sistem



#endidikan telah r!nt!h di dataran tinggi. Ak! akan melihat kegagalan yang

sama dalam #erawatan kesehatan dalam artikel selan'!tnya.

Kematian sistem

Dalam dataran tinggi "a#!a, interaksi dana otonomi kh!s!s disalahg!nakan

#emekaran mana'emen s!mber daya man!sia aat dan #emahaman lokal dari

siat #endidikan, telah bergab!ng !nt!k memeahkan sistem #endidikan. %am#ir

tidak ada yang mengak!i masalah ini. Sebaliknya, #antomim ter'adi di mana

banyak #e'abat #emerintah menyalahkan sistem #endidikan yang b!r!k,

k!rangnya inrastr!kt!r, ata! bahkan anak-anak dataran tinggi sendiri. arena

kesalah#ahaman ini masalah, sol!si yang ditawarkan adalah aat.

2010511 renana #embang!nan #ro$insi "a#!a !nt!k #endidikan dasar dan

menengah 36"D"4 men!n'!kkan bahwa #endataran sekolah !nt!k anak-anak

ber!sia antara t!'!h dan 12 di sel!r!h #ro$insi adalah 78 #ersen. Dengan kata

lain, setidaknya 100.000 kel!ar dari 900.000 anak-anak di #ro$insi ini yang tidak

bersekolah. "endataran S&" adalah :: #ersen dan sek!nder hanya 87 #ersen

senior.

Seb!ah gambar s!ram dan lebih realistis gagal sistem #endidikan "a#!a di

daerah ter#enil da#at ditem!kan di ;ah!kimo, seb!ah distrik #emekaran di

dataran tinggi 3di#ro<lkan dalam artikel saya sebel!mnya, %id!# tan#a negara

dan The antah berantah4. Distrit De#artemen "endidikan angka men!n'!kkan

bahwa hanya 1= #ersen dari anak-anak sekolah dasar lengka# di sana. >ebih

b!r!k lagi, menyelesaikan sekolah dasar ada #en'amin keaksaraan. &ayoritasl!l!san S&A dataran yang nyaris tidak melek

Sejarah singkat pendidikan dataran

Di l!ar kota-kota dan daerah-daerah #esisir se#erti Sarmi, Biak, ;a#en dan,

kegagalan sistem #endidikan "a#!a adalah sistemik. %al ini ter!tama ter'adi di

dataran tinggi, ta#i it! tidak selal! se#erti ini. Sistem #endidikan di dataran

tinggi "a#!a memiliki #rogram-#rogram keaksaraan dasar yang didirikan oleh

berbagai gere'a dan kelom#ok misionaris dim!lai #ada tah!n 1?:0-an. &isionarisini mem#ela'ari bahasa s!k!, dises!aikan mereka !nt!k alabet 6omawi, dan

mener'emahkan Alkitab ke dalam bahasa-bahasa terseb!t. >iterasi adalah alat

!nt!k menyebarkan *n'il, dan misionaris mengambil menga'ar seri!s.

"ara #eng!asa Belanda "a#!a mengak!i ketidakmam#!an #emerintahan kolonial

mereka !nt!k memberikan #endidikan ke#ada dataran tinggi dan sehingga

mereka bert!gas gere'a !nt!k melak!kannya. &ereka membayar ga'i g!r! di

sit!s melal!i badan-badan ini. &isionaris ini meletakkan dasar-dasar tradisi

#endidikan di bebera#a daerah misi se#erti "iramida dan inia, tradisi yang

ter!s hari ini. &ereka mendirikan sekolah di @amena dan Sentani, yang saat ini

bebera#a sekolah terbaik di "a#!a. Di sekolah-sekolah awal, instr!ksi ked!a

bahasa it! di Belanda sam#ai tah!n 1?2. Setelah it! Bahasa *ndonesia



dia'arkan. Unt!k memastikan standar di sel!r!h lembaga, #endidikan badan

koordinasi, Asosiasi Sekolah risten 3;""*4, didirikan.

%al ini #enting !nt!k diatat bahwa sistem gere'a yang di#im#in ini tidak #ernah

mena#ai mayoritas anak-anak dan rema'a di daerah #edesaan dan

#eg!n!ngan. *ni adalah serangkaian keil, yang ber!ngsi sekolah yang tersebarl!as di daerah #edesaan, dengan #o#!lasi yang berbeda dari daerah yang #aling

ter#enil da#at mengakses layanan terseb!t. ebanyakan orang "a#!a #edesaan

teta# kel!ar dari sekolah. Banyak anak m!lai, teta#i hanya sedikit selesai

sekolah. Statistik #emerintah dari tah!n 200 men!n'!kkan bahwa : #ersen

dari #end!d!k #ro$insi asli "a#!a memiliki k!rang dari #endidikan dasar tingkat.

D!a #!l!h lima #ersen yang b!ta h!r!.

Setelah Belanda #ergi, #emerintah *ndonesia ter!s #engat!ran ini di tem#at

#ada awalnya. "ada 1?=0-an, negara m!lai mengambil alih ked!a sekolah dan

;""* terseb!t. !r! men'adi #egawai #emerintah, dan sekolah mengado#si

k!rik!l!m nasional. "ada saat it!, #emerintah '!ga memegang kendali sistem

#erawatan kesehatan misionaris-lari. etika #emerintah memegang kendali

sistem ini, banyak di gere'a merasa bahwa mereka hanya bisa ok!s #ada

#eker'aan mereka nyata dari memberitakan *n'il. am!n, #emerintah tidak

#ernah benar-benar mengambil alih a#a-a#a. Tidak ada #roses yang nyata !nt!k

menyerahkan lembaga-lembaga ini. Dalam skenario kas!s terbaik, layanan

men!r!n. Dalam kas!s terb!r!k, mereka berhenti. etika gere'a-gere'a

menyerah #eran sosial mereka, otoritas mereka '!ga men!r!n.

Sistem #endidikan melemah lebih lan'!t #ada 'at!hnya re)im Orde Bar! #ada

tah!n 1??=, dan awal desentralisasi. Tangg!ng 'awab it! bergeser dari #ro$insike #emerintah kab!#aten, yang sia# !nt!k #ergeseran terseb!t. Tidak ada serah

terima yang te#at ter'adi, ke!ali dalam '!d!l. Sistem ini m!lai gagal di dataran

tinggi #ada tah!n 2000, ketika #!l!han #emb!n!han migran di wilayah ini

menyebabkan #enerbangan #aling "S migran dari daerah - sta medis dan

sekolah di antara mereka. The e#at "a#!anisasi dari sistem di bawah tindakan

a<rmati tidak didasarkan #ada mandat orang tidak memen!hi syarat yang

ditem#atkan ke #eker'aan atas dasar a<liasi klan mereka dari#ada keteram#ilan

mereka. *ni adalah !k!# b!r!k di kab!#aten yang ada. Dalam kab!#aten bar!

dib!at di bawah #emekaran, layanan r!nt!h

Sekolah tidak masalah: guru

etika orang berbiara tentang masalah #endidikan di "a#!a, mereka seara

otomatis mengangga# bahwa masalahnya adalah inrastr!kt!r( tidak boleh ada

sekolah. *ni adalah as!msi yang salah. "a#!a memiliki hal mel!a#-l!a# sekolah.

Sekolah dasar 3SD4 bang!nan telah meningkat dari 1=?: di 200-217? #ada

tah!n 2010 S&A 5 S& 3S&A 5 S&4 bang!nan meningkat dari 1:? di 200:-272

#ada tah!n 2011. Dengan #enge!alian Sinokla 3di#ro<lkan dalam The antah

berantah4, setia# daerah ter#enil saya telah meng!n'!ngi memiliki ged!ng

sekolah. Sebagian besar mereka adalah merek bar!. Dan terk!ni. Sebagian



dana otonomi kh!s!s yang dihabiskan !nt!k #endidikan di daerah #edesaan dan

ter#enil #ergi #ertama #ada ga'i, dan, kem!dian ked!a #ada bang!nan-

bang!nan bar!. am!n #olitisi ter!s ber'an'i !nt!k membang!n sekolah !nt!k

memberikan #endidikan.

Berkenaan dengan biaya administrasi, "a#!a '!ga resmi memiliki banyak g!r!.Catatan #ro$insi men!n'!kkan bahwa sekarang ada 1:.718 g!r! sekolah dasar,

1== g!r! S&", g!r! 8910 S&A, dan 1?19 g!r! sekolah tinggi teknis dalam

datar ga'i. &en!r!t dok!men resmi "a#!a, #ro$insi ini memiliki sat! g!r! !nt!k

setia# 28 siswa ini tidak 'a!h dari rata-rata nasional 1= siswa #er g!r!. Di

dataran tinggi, nam!n, sebagian besar g!r! ini tidak mas!k ker'a. Unt!k

mengatakan bahwa ketidakhadiran g!r! adalah masalah adalah ber#!ra-#!ra

bahwa !ngsi sistem, meski#!n dengan absensi aat. Di l!ar "a#!a, absensi

berarti g!r! m!ngkin melewatkan hari !mat, ata! tidak m!n!l !nt!k sat! ata!

d!a hari dalam menga'ar d!a mingg!. Di "a#!a, g!r! m!ngkin melewatkan sat!

semester. Dalam #enelitian saya, dan dalam #engalaman rekan-rekan saya di"a#!a yang beker'a di berbagai negara dan non-negara sekolah, #engamatan

kami men!n'!kkan bahwa kebanyakan siswa akan menghadiri kelas ketika g!r!

hadir seara <sik. Sebagai akibatnya, kelas dengan g!r! yang sebenarnya #en!h

sesak, dengan lebih dari :0 siswa #er kelas.

ami seara otomatis menyalahkan ketidakhadiran g!r! #ada k!rangnya

d!k!ngan dan asilitas yang tersedia !nt!k g!r! di#eker'akan. %al ini sebagian

benar, teta#i alasan yang bermaam-maam dan berbeda dengan daerah. &eski

begit!, bebera#a generalisasi da#at dib!at. "ertama, g!r! tidak seara otomatis

diteta#kan ke daerah asal mereka ata! tem#at tinggal. &asyarakat setem#at di

stasi!n t!gas mereka sering memandang rendah g!r! karena mereka memiliki

a<liasi yang berbeda s!k! ata! klan. %al ini da#at dilak!kan !nt!k memb!at

#ostingan tidak nyaman.

ed!a, absensi g!r! tidak mengakibatkan sanksi. %!k!m nasional *ndonesia

#ada g!r! dan dosen, Undang-Undang omor 19 tah!n 200:, #asal 80,

menyatakan bahwa g!r! absen dari #eker'aan mereka selama setidaknya sat!

b!lan da#at diberhentikan. Ta#i #enegakan ketent!an ini 'at!h ke #emerintah

kab!#aten, yang seragam ma! menegakkan it!.

etiga, g!r! tidak dibayar di sit!s, mereka '!ga tidak disediakan dengan biayatrans#ortasi menerminkan biaya trans#ortasi di daerah mereka dit!gaskan.

&ereka da#at dibayar dalam ib!kota kab!#aten yang #enerbangan sat! 'am

ata! lima hari ber'alan kaki dari #ostingan mereka. eem#at, ga'i mereka tidak

memadai. %al ini sering karena #orsi yang tersedot oleh administrasi sebel!m

mereka dibayar 3ini ber$ariasi men!r!t wilayah( di bebera#a daerah, hal ini tidak

ter'adi, sementara di lain, sebagian !#ah g!r! yang tdk d#t ditem!kan4.

&asalah kelima adalah bahwa ada hanya ada str!kt!r d!k!ngan tambahan di

tem#at( seorang g!r! yang ingin menga'ar m!ngkin menem!kan dirinya sendiri

di sekolah, tan#a administrator, g!r! ata! bahan lainnya. !r! yang dit!gaskan

di daerah ter#enil sering tidak ingin #indah kel!arga mereka karena biasanyatidak ada kesehatan di lokasi terseb!t 3meski#!n ada sering lingkaran setan di



sini( m!ngkin tidak ada #!sat kesehatan ber!ngsi karena #et!gas kesehatan

tidak ma! #indah karena ada ada sekolah ber!ngsi4.

&asalah terakhir adalah #er!mahan yang tidak memadai. Bar! dibang!n r!mah

!nt!k g!r! !m!m han!r dalam sat! ata! d!a tah!n 3menarik, r!mah misionaris

t!a dibang!n #ada tah!n 1?:0 masih berdiri4.

*ni litani masalah menya'ikan hambatan nyata. am!n, mereka tidak da#at

men'elaskan sem!a masalah dalam sistem #endidikan. Banyak g!r! yang

karyawan lokal, dan bagi mereka akomodasi, trans#ortasi, h!b!ngan klan dan

#emisahan dari kel!arga tidak masalah. am!n banyak dari g!r! ini '!ga tidak

menga'ar. Selan'!tnya, #e'abat kab!#aten memiliki kek!atan, dan #endanaan,

!nt!k meng!bah sistem ini. ika mereka ingin, mereka bisa menyewa g!r! lokal,

dan mereka memiliki sarana yang mereka miliki !nt!k membayar di lokasi dan

a#i g!r! !nt!k absensi. &ereka tidak.

Setelah berg!lat dengan masalah ini selama berb!lan-b!lan, akhirnya sayamenyadari bahwa #en'elasan sederhana( orang-orang yang diberi #osisi ini tidak

benar-benar dihara#kan !nt!k menga'ar. Se#erti yang saya 'elaskan di Tanah

hant!, #e'abat lokal, ter!tama di daerah #emekaran, #eker'aan menga'ar

#enghargaan ke#ada #ara #end!k!ng dan anggota klan. *ni adalah no-show

#eker'aan, dan sem!a orang tah! it!. Alasan menga#a kes!litan dalam stasi!n

t!gas yang tidak ditangani tidak bahwa orang-orang tidak menyadari masalah.

&ereka tidak dit!'!kan !nt!k memberikan orang dengan banyak alasan !nt!k

tidak beker'a. Di banyak tem#at, g!r! dan administrator sekolah telah menarik

ga'i selama bertah!n-tah!n - kadang-kadang !nt!k sat! dekade - tan#a m!n!l

!nt!k beker'a. Di dataran tinggi, mayoritas ini "S yang hilang dari #osting 'a!hmereka da#at ditem!kan hid!# nyaman di @amena ata! ib!kota kab!#aten.

Bebera#a g!r! men'alankan #!sat #eniti#an anak swasta di sana.

mencari solusi

Dalam bebera#a kas!s, #erwakilan masyarakat #emerintah dan si#il telah

menoba !nt!k mem#erbaiki sistem ini. Seb!ah >S& lokal yang ditawarkan

#emerintah kab!#aten ayawi'aya dan ;ah!kimo sistem dimana mereka akan

memanta! kehadiran g!r! dan kontrol ga'i #embayaran. e#ala ked!akab!#aten menerima #ro#osisi, teta#i kem!dian mengalah, agar tidak

kehilangan d!k!ngan #olitik dan klan #eker'a absensi ini menawarkan. Dalam

ontoh lain, ayawi'aya ke#ala bar! #endidikan menghentikan ga'i g!r! kronis

absen - dan g!r!-g!r! yang sama berhasil menga'!kan #etisi ke#ada B!#ati

3b!#ati4 !nt!k mengembalikan ga'i mereka.

Sekolah misionaris tam#aknya men'adi sat!-sat!nya sekolah yang eekti di

dataran tinggi. Ta#i mereka !m!mnya tidak diakreditasi oleh otoritas #endidikan

#emerintah daerah. Sistem alternati ini mer!#akan anaman bagi g!r! absen

dan administrator dalam daerah, bebera#a di antaranya men'alankan asilitas

#ribadi dan karena it! kadang-kadang menoba !nt!k men!t!# sekolah-sekolah

misionaris. Dalam Bokondini, sat! g!r! absen men'alankan seb!ah sekolah



swasta nirlaba di seberang 'alan dari sekolah #emerintah di mana dia

sehar!snya menga'ar, nam!n bel!m mengin'akkan kaki di selama bertah!n-

tah!n. *ronisnya, anak-anaknya sendiri terdatar di sekolah misionaris di

dekatnya didirikan oleh orang l!ar sebagai alternati sistem gagal yang ia

mer!#akan bagian dari. *ni adalah as!ransi yang baik !nt!k sekolah misionaris

bahwa g!r! yang sama sekali mengan'!rkan #en!t!#an sekolah misionaris

karena dia melihat it! sebagai kom#etisi !nt!k menari ke!nt!ngan bisnisnya.

Seb!ah sol!si aat dengan kondisi yang s!lit bagi g!r! di dataran tinggi da#at

ditem!kan di #esantren( bebera#a di @amena dan Sentani menawarkan

#endidikan !ngg!l, dan bebera#a misionaris dan #e'abat setem#at

mengan'!rkan #eningkatan '!mlah lembaga swasta mana anak-anak da#at

dikirim. Ta#i badan ini adalah lembaga swasta yang menyediakan #endidikan

berk!alitas tinggi !nt!k sebagian keil anak-anak yang orang t!a da#at

membayar !nt!k it!. Saling !# sekolah akan berarti mem#erl!as basis m!rid,

yang akan memb!t!hkan biaya yang lebih rendah ata! s!bsidi negara dalambent!k beasiswa. *ni akan memb!t!hkan #eningkatan !k!ran kelas, lebih banyak

g!r!, asilitas di#erl!as, dan #erset!'!an dari administrator swasta yang sah

tak!t bahwa saling !# akan mengakibatkan #en!r!nan k!alitas layanan.

>embaga swasta lainnya tidak akan menawarkan mendekati k!alitas lembaga

aslinya. %al ini '!ga tidak realistis !nt!k menghara#kan negara !nt!k da#at

memb!at layer bar! dari sekolah elit, mengingat kiner'a, sekolah non-#esantren

yang ada.

Selain #esantren di #ro$insi ini, ada '!ga lembaga di l!ar "a#!a. &isalnya, S!rya

*nstit!te akarta mengambil anak-anak dari Tolikara dan daerah lain di "a#!a dan

melatih mereka seara intensi dalam matematika dan ilm! #engetah!an.

"endekatan ini telah menghasilkan anak-anak yang menang di kom#etisi

matematika internasional, membant! !nt!k memeahkan stereoti# bahwa

banyak orang l!ar memiliki sekitar "a#!a. Ta#i it! #endekatan yang datang

dengan harga. &endorong "a#!a !nt!k mengirim anak-anak mereka di tah!n-

tah!n ormati mereka istirahat h!b!ngan mereka dengan kel!arga dan

kom!nitas mereka.

>ebih !m!m dari#ada #esantren adalah #raktek anak tan#a #endam#ing

#endakian 'arak 'a!h ke tem#at-tem#at dengan sekolah ber!ngsi. @amena

#en!h mahasiswa hostel, masing-masing dimiliki oleh gere'a dari daerahdataran tinggi tertent!, di mana anak-anak yang telah melak!kan #er'alanan ke

@amena !nt!k mendatar di sekolah m!ngkin tinggal. am!n, hostel ini

!m!mnya dig!nakan sebagai o#ho!ses bagi sia#a #!n dari daerah asal. &ereka

adalah anaman kesehatan masyarakat, tan#a #engawasan, b!ang air besar

terb!ka dengan alasan, dan ada air yang mengalir. Serta men'adi #!sat transmisi

!nt!k t!berk!losis, mereka tidak aman !nt!k anak-anak, ter!tama anak

#erem#!an, dan #erkosaan !m!mnya ter'adi #ada mereka. "engg!naan

narkoba, ter!tama menghir!# #elar!t, '!ga mengkhawatirkan !m!m di hostel

terseb!t.



Kurikulum kontekstual?

Sol!si lain yang ditawarkan aat !nt!k mem#erbaiki masalah #endidikan di

"a#!a da#at ditem!kan di dri$e !nt!k k!rik!l!m kontekst!al 3!rik!l!m

kontekst!al ata! !rik!l!m h!s!s4 di sekolah-sekolah "a#!a. eb!t!han

k!rik!l!m terseb!t sering diseb!tkan oleh #e'abat #endidikan negara, >S& lokal

dan donor. !rik!l!m terseb!t memiliki nilai ketika mereka ok!s #ada bahasa.

Anak asli "a#!a tidak berbahasa *ndonesia di r!mah, meski#!n mereka

ender!ng !nt!k mengambil banyak kosakata bahasa *ndonesia sebel!m

mereka #ertama kali mas!k sekolah dasar. %ari #ertama sekolah dalam

k!rik!l!m ber!ngsi yang hanya mengg!nakan Bahasa *ndonesia mer!#akan

salah sat! yang menak!tkan bagi anak-anak #rib!mi. &ereka segera

menem!kan diri mereka #ada ker!gian !nt!k anak-anak migran yang berbahasa

*ndonesia di r!mah.

Salah sat! yayasan di dataran tinggi, ;ayasan risten @amena 3;@4,

mengidenti<kasi sekitar 1000 kata *ndonesia yang anak-anak setem#at yang

mengenal dan membang!n k!rik!l!m #ertama dan ked!a tah!n dalam

matematika dan bahasa *ndonesia berdasarkan kata-kata ini. Bebera#a dari

k!rik!l!m ini '!ga di Dani. !rik!l!m ;@ ini dises!aikan dengan standar

nasional, dan res#on dari anak-anak lokal !nt!k it! sangat #ositi. &ereka k!rang

terintimidasi dan ma'! lebih e#at. !rik!l!m ini telah dilak!kan se'ak diada#tasi

dalam berbagai kab!#aten dataran tinggi. Ta#i di daerah ter#enil, b!k!-b!k!

yang dihasilkan oleh risiko ;@ men'adi makanan bagi li#an, karena masalah inti

dari s!mber daya man!sia teta#.

Banyak #end!k!ng k!rik!l!m kontekst!al mengambil arg!men mereka terlal!

'a!h. &ereka mengatakan bahwa k!rik!l!m nasional tidak mem#erhit!ngkan

konteks "a#!a, dan bahwa anak-anak tidak bisa berh!b!ngan dengan a#a yang

dia'arkan, sehingga mereka kehilangan minat. Seolah-olah gambar anak-anak

beramb!t l!r!s dan mesin yang tidak diketah!i se#erti ka#al dan kereta a#i

adalah se#erti t!rn-oE !nt!k anak-anak "a#!a yang mereka hanya ber'alan

kel!ar dari kelas !nt!k #ergi dan bermain dengan bat!. Arg!men terseb!t akan

menggelikan 'ika tidak memiliki nada menggangg! rasis. A#a yang lebih

menggangg! adalah sebera#a sering arg!men terseb!t dib!at oleh g!r! "a#!a

dan administrator. Dengan arg!men yang sama, salah sat! bisa menghilangkan

dari sem!a k!rik!l!m tidak terlihat dengan mata telan'ang( #lanet, bakteri,

bahkan se'arah l!ar memori hid!#. %ighland anak se#erti anak-anak di sel!r!h

d!nia( s#ons bawaan #enasaran yang menyera# inormasi yang mem#esona

mereka. &asalah sebenarnya adalah tidak kemam#!an mereka, teta#i a#a yang

mereka ditolak oleh sistem gagal.

Pemahaman cacat pendidikan

Di "a#!a #edesaan, orang t!a dan anak-anak mentolerir sistem ini karena terlal!banyak dari mereka tidak memiliki konse# yang !k!# tentang a#a kelas



#endidikan ini dimaks!dkan !nt!k memberikan. &ereka bel!m #ernah melihat

sekolah negeri ber!ngsi. Dari t!a dataran tinggi generasi, mayoritas tidak

memiliki akses ke sistem gere'a yang di#im#in terbatas. &ereka b!ta h!r! dan

memiliki minimal ata! tidak sekolah. Bagi orang t!a yang b!ta h!r!, #endidikan

b!kan ak!isisi #engetah!an #raktis melal!i instr!ksi yang sistematis. Sebaliknya,

it! adalah k!ni hanya sat! s!#ranat!ral !nt!k kema'!an dan kekayaan dalam

sistem ke#erayaan animisme #en!h #erangkat terseb!t. %al ini dimiliki oleh

g!r!, dan ak!isisi yang dibeli dari g!r! dari wakt! ke wakt! dengan ara se#erti

!#aara dan #emberian hadiah, b!kan oleh st!di.

*ni adalah tam#ilannya yang banyak orangt!a di daerah #edesaan( Orang t!a

mengirim anak-anak mereka ke sekolah. Anak-anak m!n!l ke ged!ng sekali

semingg! ata! k!rang, #ada wakt! yang ditent!kan. &ereka kem!dian #!lang,

lebih ata! k!rang langs!ng. Tidak ada kelas( sia#a sa'a yang telah

menghabiskan wakt! di dataran tinggi kea'aiban di halaman sekolah #en!h

dengan anak-anak berseragam !sang bermain se#ak bola, dengan tidak seorangg!r! terlihat. Setia# begit! sering g!r! mengel!arkan #ermintaan( membawa

kay! bakar, ata! membawa rokok. Orang t!a memberikan anak-anak dengan

barang-barang ini !nt!k dibawa ke sekolah. "ada akhir tah!n, tes negara

diberikan. !r! men!liskan 'awaban di #a#an !nt!k anak-anak !nt!k menyalin

3saya telah menginti# melal!i berdeb!, b!r!ng men'at!hkan-ter#erik 'endela

banyak dataran tinggi #edesaan sekolah dan melihat 'awaban tert!lis di #a#an

dari tes terakhir diberikan tidak ada yang berada di sekolah se'ak4, ata! g!r!

mengisi !'ian sendiri. "ara siswa kem!dian #ergi ke tah!n de#an.

Akhirnya, setelah l!l!s mereka menerima i'a)ah - searik kertas serti<kasi

ke#ada orang t!a dan siswa bahwa #endidikan telah ditranser. Di#loma adalah

sem!a-#enting( mem!ngkinkan l!l!san !nt!k menda#atkan #eker'aan #egawai

negeri didambakan, di mana, dalam kata-kata seorang #em!da di Bokondini,

salah sat! tidak #ernah har!s beker'a lagi. Orang mengambil #enerbitan i'a)ah

ini sangat seri!s. Seb!ah !saha gagal seorang anak ender!ng menghasilkan

menganam k!n'!ngan oleh orang t!a yang anak.

"roses ini berakhir dengan l!l!san S&A yang tidak bisa membaa, men!lis ata!

melak!kan matematika dasar. Uni$ersitas Cenderawasih 3UCF, !ni$ersitas

terbaik di wilayah "a#!a4 menyim#an datar sekolah terb!r!k di "a#!a, dan

menolak !nt!k mem#ertimbangkan sia#a #!n dengan i'a)ah dari sekolah-sekolah ini !nt!k mas!k. Sekolah #asa-sek!nder lainnya tidak begit!

diskriminati( #eni#!an sistemik ini ter!s melal!i sekolah #asa-sekolah

menengah teknis dan lainnya. em!dian menghasilkan l!l!san yang b!ta h!r!

yang kadang-kadang #ergi !nt!k men'adi g!r! yang b!ta h!r! dan

administrator

Banyak instit!si #asa sekolah menengah mela#orkan bahwa rata-rata, orang

dewasa m!da dari daerah #edesaan memas!ki sistem mereka baa di ked!a

sekolah dasar sam#ai tingkat kelas tiga. Dengan kata lain, mereka telah

menerima setara dengan tiga tah!n sekolah selama d!a belas tah!n #endidikan.

"erg!r!an Seorang g!r! risten 3ST*"4 di l!ar @amena menyediakan sat!



setengah tah!n #erbaikan membaa dan menghit!ng kelas intensi bagi setia#

siswa sebel!m k!rik!l!m sebenarnya dim!lai sem!a dari mereka

memb!t!hkannya.

>S& lain yang beker'a di ;ah!kimo merekr!t orang dewasa "a#!a m!da !nt!k

bertindak sebagai asisten g!r! di sekolah #edesaan dengan g!r! yang tidakhadir. Asisten ini, sem!a relawan, memerl!kan instr!ksi dasar dalam matematika

dan keaksaraan. am!n mereka begit! bersemangat !nt!k bela'ar bahwa em#at

mingg! kelas intensi bisa ma'! mereka melal!i em#at tah!n #endidikan dasar.

ela#aran intelekt!al dan semangat !nt!k #erbaikan diri bahwa orang-orang

m!da menam#ilkan lalat dalam menghada#i stereoti# "a#!a, dan memb!at

kegagalan sistem #endidikan sem!a lebih dimaakan.

&engingat sebagian besar siswa 3dan orang t!a mereka4 tidak menyadari

mereka sedang diti#! dari #endidikan, da#at men'adi ke'!tan ketika mereka

dihada#kan langs!ng tentang k!rangnya #restasi #endidikan. Dan hal ini

kadang-kadang ter'adi. !r! termoti$asi masih memas!ki sistem ini. &ereka

ber!saha !nt!k menga'ar, dan di kelas mereka, siswa yang tidak bela'ar

konsek!ensi wa'ah. Ta#i ketika g!r!-g!r! gagal siswa, mereka sering teranam

oleh orang t!a marah karena #elanggaran #er'an'ian dias!msikan #ert!karan.

ed!ng sekolah telah dibakar karena kegagalan terseb!t. !r! idealis terseb!t

baik menyerahkan ke sistem, ata! mereka #ergi. Banyak dari mereka #ergi

beker'a di sistem #ribadi dan misionaris #aralel, di mana mereka dibayar sedikit.

*roni g!r! dibayar tidak menga'ar sementara s!karelawan menga'ar dengan

harga m!rah, dan kadang-kadang tidak ada sama sekali, ditem!kan di sel!r!h

dataran tinggi.

Di banyak bagian dataran tinggi, kelom#ok alternati memen!hi #ermintaan

!nt!k #endidikan. ;as!mat, seb!ah yayasan lokal yang mengkh!s!skan diri

dalam bidang #endidikan, kesehatan, dan #emerintahan, menga'ar di setengah

dari keamatan di ;ah!kimo. arwast!, >S& lain, dikelola oleh relawan 'angka

#an'ang dari S!lawesi Utara. *ni menyediakan sat!-sat!nya #endidikan di Binime,

&emberamo Tengah. Orang t!a telah men'adi begit! ant!sias tentang a#a yang

anak-anak mereka bela'ar di sekolah organisasi ini yang arwast! telah

meni#takan kelas malam !nt!k orang t!a. Ob Anggen, seb!ah sekolah di

Bokondini, Tolikara, menawarkan #endidikan yang m!ngkin men'adi yang terbaik

dari 'enisnya, b!kan hanya di #ro$insi, teta#i di sel!r!h *ndonesia Tim!r.eberhasilan ini lembaga swasta memb!at kegagalan sekolah negeri terdekat

k!rang da#at di#ertahankan. Orang t!a lokal, di Bokondini dan di tem#at lain,

m!lai marah #ada a#a yang mereka #erlahan mengak!i !nt!k men'adi

#eni#!an.

*ni yayasan dan kelom#ok-kelom#ok gere'a b!kan sat!-sat!nya yang mengisi

kesen'angan #endidikan yang ditinggalkan oleh negara. Di daerah dataran

rendah lain di l!ar aya#!ra, %oltekam#, kelom#ok *slam garis keras %i)b!t Tahrir

telah mendirikan d!a sekolah. !r! mereka #at!h menga'ar lebih dari serat!s

mahasiswa #rib!mi dan #endatang setia# hari.



Sol!si&em#erbaiki sistem yang r!sak ini har!s melibatkan #engak!an dari a#a

masalah sebenarnya adalah. Dan tidak ada #erbaikan e#at dalam #erbaikan.

Bang!nan yang tidak di#erl!kan. A#a yang dib!t!hkan adalah g!r! yang

menga'ar, dan administrator distrik yang benar-benar mengelola sekolah. UU o

29 tentang ketent!an ketidakhadiran g!r! #erl! ditegakkan, m!ngkin s!r!t.

Dalam str!kt!r eodal kelir! diseb!t desentralisasi, b!#ati sem!a-k!at. &ereka

#erl! di$estasi hak !nt!k mem#engar!hi s!mber daya man!sia di sekolah

kab!#aten. *t! salah sat! hal !nt!k #enghargaan #eker'aan dalam birokrasi si#il,

di mana ga'i orang terseb!t hanya menyedot dana dari sistem, teta#i tidak

m!n!l #endidik tidak m!n!l - dan #et!gas kesehatan - mer!gikan nyata. "osisi

terseb!t har!s di#ertimbangkan oE-batas dalam #ermainan #atronase lokal

!rik!l!m kontekst!al da#at berg!na, teta#i hanya dengan g!r! !nt!k menga'armereka. Sia#a#!n yang ter!s menyalahkan anak-anak "a#!a !nt!k k!rangnya

#endidikan har!s hanya diabaikan. !r! yang melak!kan hal ini har!s di#eat.

"ada tah!n 2012, Uni$ersitas Cenderawasih dan dinas #endidikan #ro$insi dib!at

#erat!ran #ro$insi ranangan !nt!k mem#er'elas #eran dan tangg!ng 'awab di

bidang #endidikan. Drat termas!k beasiswa bagi siswa adat ke'!r!an dan

kesem#atan #elatihan teknis ker'a asisten #enga'ar !tama lokal di daerah

ter#enil dan d!k!ngan tambahan !nt!k g!r! di daerah ter#enil.

6anangan ini adalah seb!ah awal, teta#i mengabaikan !nt!k mengatasi

#enyebab !tama dari kegagalan sistem #endidikan( mana'emen eekti daris!mber daya man!sia. *ni tidak berbiara tentang kriteria !nt!k mem#eker'akan

g!r! keb!t!han !nt!k memberhentikan g!r! yang tidak menga'ar dan

konsek!ensi !nt!k administrator yang tidak bertindak terhada# g!r! yang tidak

hadir. Sam#ai masalah ini diak!i, sem!a #endekatan lain !nt!k masalah ini akan

teta# eekti. Dan anak-anak dan rema'a di daerah ini akan ter!s diti#!.

!r! bar! har!s disewa, dan dibayar, lokal. D!k!ngan tambahan bagi g!r! di

daerah ter#enil hanya har!s #ergi ke g!r! bar! ata! orang-orang yang memiliki

atatan menghadiri sekolah mereka. &enyediakan g!r! yang bel!m dia'arkan

dengan d!k!ngan tambahan dengan hara#an bahwa mereka sekarang akanmenga'arkan b!kan ide yang baik. Sistem yang r!sak ini tidak bisa di#erbaiki 'ika

orang terseb!t teta# dalam sistem, dan dis!a# !nt!k mengabaikan mereka

dari#ada dih!k!m !nt!k it!.

"em!da setem#at dan orang dewasa dengan kemam#!an !nt!k membaa dan

men!lis #ada tingkat !ngsional yang lebih tinggi dari biasanya di daerah

mereka da#at dilatih sebagai asisten g!r!. &ereka kem!dian da#at bertangg!ng

'awab !nt!k #endidikan siswa sekolah dasar, dan siswa yang lebih t!a bel!m

ber!ngsi #ada tingkat dasar. Seb!ah k!rs!s #elatihan enam b!lan ata! sat!

tah!n !nt!k alon terseb!t akan !k!#. ita #erl! meninggalkan kom#!ter dan

bahasa *nggris dan ilm! #engetah!an !nt!k nanti, dan m!lai dengan dasar inti

#endidikan( membaa, men!lis, dan matematika. "enga'aran har!s dalam



bahasa *ndonesia dan lokal, dan memanaatkan k!rik!l!m bahasa kontekst!al

se#erti yang dikembangkan oleh ;@.

Selama #eriode interim #erbaikan sistem negara, salah sat! #ilihan !nt!k

#emerintah #ro$insi dan kab!#aten akan seara resmi mengak!i lembaga

#aralel yang dii#takan !nt!k mengatasi kesen'angan #endidikan. Di daerah dimana sekolah negeri tidak ber!ngsi, lembaga swasta se#erti har!s terakreditasi

3selama mereka menga'arkan k!rik!l!m nasional4 .s!at! relawan yang biasanya

menga'ar di sistem terseb!t bisa dimas!kkan dalam datar ga'i #emerintah, ta#i

dibayar melal!i gere'a-gere'a dan lainnya lembaga swasta yang men'alankan

sistem.

"enting !nt!k diingat bahwa warga dib!at di sekolah-sekolah. *ndonesia tidak

hanya bela'ar membaa, men!lis, dan matematika di sekolah( mereka bela'ar

tentang "anasila dan a#a artinya men'adi orang *ndonesia, se'arah negara dan

#er'!angan #endirinya. "ela'aran terseb!t o!nter radikalisme, a#akah it! dari

berbagai agama ata! se#aratis. Di tem#at di mana ber!ngsi sekolah sedikit dan

'a!h antara, dan biasanya swasta, adalah mengherankan bahwa konse# se#erti

kewarganegaraan k!rangG

Bobby Anderson ([email protected]) bekerja pada proyek-proyek

pemerintahan di Timur Indonesia kesehatan, pendidikan, dan, dan dia sering

meakukan perjaanan di provinsi !apua. Artike berikutnya daam seri akan

"okus pada kegagaan kesehatan di dataran tinggi

the failure education in papua highlands

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