Non-Independent Education

Our education system is not yet free from the vicious cycle of education. Policy still shackles educational practice.

The policy Freedom to Learn in reality cannot liberate educational practices at the educational unit level. Educational practices are still shackled by policies or conditions that impact learning materials and processes, and eliminate the core freedom of education administrators in formulating, managing, organizing, evaluating and improving learning materials and processes to suit the needs of students, the environment and society.

This policy was developed to provide freedom to education administrators, including educators or teachers, in seeking learning that suits competency and character needs. This policy allows education providers to quickly and directly adapt curriculum implementation to the needs of students.

Freedom

The freedom of educational organizers makes it easier to overcome the complexity of curriculum implementation, making it more specific and focused according to field needs, involving key stakeholders, and can be implemented directly. Meanwhile, ministry policies usually apply generally, theoretically, and are difficult to adjust to local and other needs.

Also read: Who is the Independent Curriculum for?

The role of educational organizers or the community (private schools) is considered significant when viewed from the number of schools, teachers, and students involved. Their numbers can be greater than those of government schools.

They are also more creative in embracing religious values and practices, the aspirations of community organizations, cultural and social values, as well as competency and character development. Their dynamics appear to be livelier compared to government education or schools.

From this reality, it turns out that educational institutions or the community can also take initiative and attempt to address education issues that are not prescribed by the ministry. They are the ones who introduced the terms of integrated schools, boarding schools, nature schools, and formal schools that are integrated with Islamic boarding schools, and other terms.

Furthermore, they may also be able to develop and implement curriculum, which has so far been considered a failure with the Education Unit Level Curriculum (KTSP), Curriculum 2013, and other curricula. The failure was caused, among other things, by the unclear concept and implementation of the curriculum, the curriculum structure issued by the ministry, the measurement of teacher performance as a consequence of professional allowances, and the low role and contribution of teachers.

Constraint

The concept and implementation of the Merdeka Belajar (Freedom to Learn) initiative, for example, does not reflect the true essence of freedom as implied in its name, which is related to the formulation, establishment, implementation, evaluation and improvement of materials and learning processes at the educational unit level to realize the target competencies and characters of students by involving various parties related to it.

Sometimes its implementation deviates from policies, conditions, or ministry regulations, such as the curriculum structure rules in the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology Regulation (Permendikbudristek) Number 12 of 2024 regarding the Curriculum for Early Childhood Education, Basic Education Levels, and Secondary Education Levels. Contradictions occur between the orientation and implementation of the curriculum at the education unit level.

Actually, the Merdeka Belajar policy can also be considered as a curriculum, which provides guidance for educational units and teachers on how to carry out their tasks. It also includes targets, materials, learning processes, evaluations, and the role of teachers. Its implementation is based on educational units, teachers, the needs of students, the environment, and others.

In contrast, the latest curriculum contains subjects that must be taught in educational units, and its implementation tends to be carried out by delivering subjects with intracurricular time allocation and strengthening the Pancasila Student Profile.

Curriculum implementation is then measured as teacher performance and continues with the receipt of professional allowances for teachers.

A curriculum that is based on subject matter tends to focus on mastery of the subjects, rather than competence and character, even though efforts have been made with notes on intracurricular activities and the Pancasila Student Profile Strengthening Project (P5). The experience of implementing the Curriculum of 1947, 1952, 1964, 1975, 1984, 1994, 2004, and 2013 shows how difficult it is to achieve quality education goals that have an impact on human resource development, community life, national development, environmental development, science, and technology.

Personal experience in the 1970s at elementary school was that what is called learning is simply jotting down the subject matter from the blackboard, which was copied from classmates with good handwriting. Sometimes it was read aloud and then written down in a notebook. Knowledge about the subject matter was gained from those notebooks.

In the next level of education, after textbooks have been obtained, learning becomes mastery of the subject matter by reading the books and listening to the teacher's explanations and notes on the blackboard. This learning model is still widely used from primary school to college until now.

Now it is done more sophisticatedly with presentation media, online and zoom. The assessment is carried out through subject knowledge tests. Sometimes the test is also done online.

The progress of curriculum implementation occurred when the Competency-Based Curriculum (KBK), Unit Level Curriculum (KTSP), and 2013 Curriculum were implemented. The aim of curriculum implementation is directed towards realizing the achievement of competencies and characters through the determination and formulation of competency targets, characters, materials, and learning processes at the unit level of education. If observed, there is a similarity between KTSP and the policy of Independent Learning in their orientation and learning practices.

From the implementation of the curriculum, it is found that the educational outcomes are not far from the achievement of subject knowledge aspects, teaching containing subject instruction, and learning evaluation conducted through tests. The results and impacts of education have not been able to produce the development of human resources quality, community life, national development, environmental development, culture, science, and technology.

The implementation of the curriculum is then measured as the performance of teachers and continues with the acceptance of professional allowances for teachers who meet the requirements. It is logical that the implementation of the curriculum will surely be successful as it becomes the performance of teachers, and with that performance, they will receive their allowance. Teachers should be enthusiastic, competent, perform well, and produce quality graduates.

The performance of teachers and their professional allowances may also be a possible cause of the failure to implement the curriculum. This performance is measured by taking into consideration requirements such as the teacher's educational background, certification, subjects taught, time allocation for learning, and the curriculum structure implemented by the ministry. Starting from their first day of duty until retirement, teachers are bound by these profiles, and if their duties do not align with them, their professional allowances will not be paid.

Also read: Teachers, between Demands and Competence

It turns out that in the future, that particular profile will not be able to meet the challenges of implementing the curriculum. This struggle occurred when the KTSP and Curriculum 2013 were implemented. Both curricula require competency achievement, material and project-based learning through themes, authentic assessment, while teachers are bound to that profile. In the end, it was discovered that the implementation of the curriculum was less successful.

The measurement of performance and professional allowances has resulted in, firstly, teachers being trapped or closed off from making progress in new work, competencies, or challenges. Secondly, teachers are not required to improve their abilities because from the beginning to the end of their tasks, they are required to teach the same subjects, goals, materials, and learning processes. Thirdly, the material and learning process only convey the content of the subject matter. Fourthly, learning outcomes cannot move beyond the achievement of knowledge in the subjects taught.

Bad consequences not only occur on the role and contribution of teachers, but also result in high education costs. The number of teachers continues to increase to 3.37 million (BPS 2022/2023). This amount becomes a cost to the ministry and society through taxes for certification and professional allowances.

Private education providers are required to employ many teachers in accordance with the number of subjects taught. Due to the high number of teachers needed, there is a need for funds to pay their salaries.

The cost of education ultimately falls on the students. Those who are poor are forced to drop out of school. In June 2023, BPS mentioned the dropout rates of 0.13% for elementary school, 1.06% for junior high school, and 1.38% for high school. Private schools also had to close due to funding difficulties.

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Alternative

To address this educational issue, a solution needs to be found. Regarding the objectives, process, and outcomes of education, it should be agreed that education should aim to produce graduates with competencies and character that are in line with the needs of life. The process of education is the formation of competencies and character.

The participation and contributions of educational institutions or the community are continuously improved through the assistance of studies, teacher training programs, teacher certification, service quality improvement, and others. Due to the success in educational innovation and the increasing number of schools, teachers, students, and others, curriculum development and implementation should be carried out by educational institutions or educational units.

The performance of teachers and professional allowances need to be adjusted to the challenges of implementing the curriculum, competencies, and human resource development. The new direction for teacher performance and professional allowances is based on the first role and contribution of teachers in overcoming new challenges.

They must be ready to teach other subjects, teach based on themes, teach based on competencies and character. What is even more necessary in the future is for teachers to act as facilitators in managing community and environmental learning resources.

The ministry must free the national education system from the vicious cycle of bad education.

Secondly, teachers are required to always learn and work in accordance with the dynamics of changing society. Teachers become inspirators for the development of students. Thirdly, the materials, processes, and results of learning are aimed at achieving the competencies and characters of students.

It's time for the ministry to establish policies that are in line with the demands of curriculum implementation, empowering education organizers at the unit level to carry out quality curriculum implementation, and improving the management of teacher performance and professional allowances that encourage the role and contribution of teachers. The ministry must liberate the national education system from the vicious circle of bad education.

Agus Rachman, Founder of the Jati Lemah Sugih Mosque and Islamic Boarding School