Test (and lil bit glance on UAN#1)

This post suppose to be a test post...my very first post on the blog. Well, naturally people like to test new thing, to ensure that it works well (at least at the first time we use it) and to ensure its reliability and accountability. The decent test should be held not only once or twice at the beginning, but it should be held regularly as the check and balance mechanism and as evaluation towards this 'thing'. whatever it is.

The word 'test' remind me to the Indonesian education system with its famous cumbersome, full of critic, contradicting and rather immature test (or, exam) mechanism called UAN (Ujian Akhir Nasional ; National Final Examination) or which lately has been changed (name-wise) into UN or National Exam. The only ultimate parameter of graduating from high school, which score the three basic subjects of math, english and bahasa Indonesia in three days test, and neglecting the other subjects and parameters.

This test is considered immature since it is conduct nationally, applying the same national standard without regards to the very diverse and big disparity of educational quality and facility amongst provinces. It is true that this can motivate and urge government, both central and local, and the other stakeholder to improve education qualities and facilities in each region to meet national standard. But it seems as a long run practice, while the government suddenly apply this UAN without any further effort on improving the quality of education and reducing education quality gap among provinces and regions before this UAN was officially held. Imagine the gap between a fancy state high school 8 (which by the way, the very prestigious and well-facilitated high school) in jakarta and a high school in remote area somewhere in papua or kalimantan, or even in a distant village in java, which generally less equipped with facilities and qualified teacher (knock knock mr.ministry of education, remember our problem of lack of qualified teacher and its fair distribution??) and often have no library or the up-to-date book. With this gap, would it be fair to implement the same national standard scoring and test? Well, it would be fair if the government assure the (at least the minimum) standard quality of high school - its teacher, its facilities, etc.

In further implication, the practice of UAN is also full of flaws .but i think cheating (both by student AND the teacher, in many possible slick ways ) can happen in ANY kind of tests. UAN might just put more burden and stress on some people thus it motivates them more (and gives them more incentives) to cheat.

I was a bit shocked when last year i heard that a sister of a friend failed the UAN (which mean she cant graduate from high school) - since she's a national physic olympic participant - and even more shocked to hear that many of the student which got direct merit admission for some prestigious university due to their high school academic excellence also failed this UAN and lost their chance. One of this failed student even got the scholarship to a university in Germany.Hmm..no wonder that after the 2006's UAN, The civil law suit done by students who felt that their right is being immensely violated. This case is eventually granted by the judge of central jakarta state court...Now THAT's a real test for the government.

^^well...so far..this is it for the test post ^^