National Exam in Indonesia

By : Inez Edhina A.

 In Indonesia, we have a national exam that became an annual event. Every students in this country must pass this kind of exam, including me, as I have already experienced before. Then, in the realization, there are some fouls that happen in national exam. That is not a secret anymore, and all people know about it for sure through news or mouth to mouth. There is something behind national exam that makes it as a controversial issue in this country. Actually, there is some factors that affect it and some people try to ruin it. Because of being a controversial issue, so it appears a question whether national exam is needed or not.

National exam is as the standard education evaluation system. Actually national exam is a standard education evaluation system for school. Another word, it is a measurement of school quality that have to be passed by every school. So we can know whether the school is succeed or not to do teaching-learning process. However, the purpose of evaluation itself is not only for school but also for the students who are in the last grade. Having the national exam as a standard evaluation, is to know the student’s ability in mastering subjects that have already been taught in school. Moreover, it can be as a selection for going to upper or next grade. Students who have national exam are in the last grade, for instance in elementary school for sixth grade, junior high school for ninth grade, and senior high school for twelfth grade. For elementary school subjects are Indonesian, math and science.
Then, for junior high school subjects are as same as elementary subjects, and another subject is English. For senior high school subjects are the same with junior high school subjects and another subjects depend on their major whether they take science or social.

In fact, the national exam has some problems in realization and make it as a controversial issue. As I have already mentioned before that, national exam is as the standard evaluation system so it is a form of responsibility to establish education in school. Moreover, it determines whether the students pass or not to go to the next grade. As we know that, in elementary school, junior high school and senior high school they study a lot of subjects. They do not just study some subjects that is held in national exam. Meanwhile, in each area of Indonesia, the input of teaching-learning process is different so then the output of it is surely different too. It means that in each area, the competency of teachers, students’ ability, education media, school facilities are different. Those are some facts that happens in this country.

National exam is being the important thing in our education that determines students’ fate, so that students are stressful or getting depression. So we can know that, they are afraid of getting failure in national exam. Furthermore, there are some real examples that ruin the realization of national exam. Many fouls happens in realization of national exam, for instance: some people tries to sell answer key of it. They convince student to buy it, so the students do not need to worry to do the national exam. These people or the dealer make their existence stronger and stronger. Moreover, related to this case, there are some teachers support this idea which want to get the shortcut and parents do not know about this matter. In addition, even though students who do not buy answer key from the dealer, they still can do cheating or asking to clever student. This phenomenon is truly happening in our education word, and that makes the national exam which is as the standard education evaluation system is getting worse.

By all of those matters, we should consider again about the existence of national exam as the standard evaluation. As I have mentioned before, education which is offered and given to students is not pure to educate them, but it seems like bringing them to pass the national exam as their only goal. This is so sad considering that the purpose of education is for developing human’s quality. This national exam is not suitable anymore to be applied. I believe that if we try to continue this kind of test or it is not fixed, it will be worse and worse. Furthermore, it is really unfair for students who want to develop their ability. Why? Because they are not free to choose their favorite subjects and becoming a master of it. Besides, there is an imbalance education between cities area and isolated area. So, we cannot coerce the output or student’s result by using national exam as the standard evaluation system. It has been proven that national exam is not needed considering all of those matters and phenomenon.

In brief, there must be an innovation for our education standard system. We cannot depend on national exam, it is degenerated year by year. Then, the society’s mindset will change if the evaluation standard is renewed and considering much about the problem of having national exam. Another good thing is the controversial issue about the education system would stop in our society.