Papua Schools Lead the Way in Innovative Class

Jakarta Globe, page 6

Indonesia is known as one of the developing countries facing complex problems in education. The quality of education in Indonesia is still very low. It means it will take a longer time for Indonesia to have higher qualified human resources.

Meanwhile, Papua is known as the lowest-educated province in Indonesia. The worst conditions can be found in Pegunungan Tengah district in Papua. Wahana Visi Indonesia (WVI) data in 2010 showed that only 53.2 percent of fourth grade students in Pegunungan Tengah could read, 50.7 percent could write and 41.8 percent could calculate numbers to their expected level.

Many factors cause the low quality of primary school’s education in Pegunungan Tengah. One of them is a matter of proximity of the school, since the students walk on foot from their homes to school which is often located many kilometers away. The limited number of teachers is also another factor causing the low quality of education in Papua, and also school management which influences the level of quality and quantity education. It is common to find a teacher of fourth grader who are unable to master any learning material taught to children.

Culture and education are inseparable. Character education will determine a child’s future. Through education, a child is able to acknowledge the moral values of their culture including hospitality, politeness, caring, respect and hard work which leads to harmony.

Nowadays in Pegunungan Tengah, many local cultures have been shifted and neglected. Silimo, the traditional language of the region, is fragile and nobody cares about it, says Nico R. Lokobal, the Dani tribe traditional leader. To overcome this problem, government and education staff must implement a character based education built upon local wisdom and introduced a young age. The children of Pegunungan Tengah need to understand the local wisdom about peace to end other tribal wars which are likely to happen in the future. The local community also need to understand the needs of children so everyone can work together to fulfill and protect children’s right. This kind of education system in Papua is called Pakima Hani Hano.

Pakima Hani Hano means it is good to be in harmony. It’s character education in Papua which was implemented since 2012 by the education office of Jayawijaya district alongside WVI and other stokeholders in Pegunungan Tengah, Papua. The process also involved partners from the education and instruction office, academics, the Catholic Education Foundation (YPPK), and traditional and religious leaders from Jayawijaya. This partnership successfully identified 33 positive cultural values from Baliem Valley. These values will be synchronized with school curriculum and carried on in daily teaching activity, so the students won’t forget their cultural identity – as well as improving their academic achievement.

Pakima Hani Hano is an excellent education program as it makes teachers encouraged to be creative with local materials that can be found in their surroundings to support the implementation of national curriculum. It’s believed that children will learn best when they are happy and familiar with the topic and the learning aid too.

Although there are many challenges the people of Pegunungan Tengah face, they still have a willingness to increase the quality of education at primary school. Through the intensive assistance and coordination, village leaders and school staff agree to make a school committee.

The committee can give opinions for school’s progress and control financial transparency in school. By implementing this contextual education, the student’s presence in school is increasing. This achievement is proof of the success of the school’s new management and the teaching staff’s new way of teaching students in class.

Papua Schools Lead the Way in Innovative Class