Many of you have asked me what the education system in Indonesia is like. They have elementary school as well as junior and senior high school. There are private and public schools; however, in both schools Islam is present. For example, in the school in Sekayu students read the Quran each morning for ten minutes after their morning ceremony. They have each day divided in such a way that senior high students will have finished the Quran by the time they graduate.
As far as curriculum and standards go there are national standards for each subject. In other words the curriculum or standards are the same in each school and subject. The national curriculum requires English to be spoken and has a foundation in Islamic studies. Private schools usually have more emphasis on religion. For example, if it is an Islamic school they might also add Arabic to the curriculum. If it is a Christian private school then there would be an emphasis on Christianity.
Each school adapts the national standards to the history, culture, and needs of their community, city, and county. I found this to be very interesting. Teachers in the school work on this together under the leadership of one of the vice principals.
I have loved visiting the classrooms here in Sekayu. The school here is SMA 2 and it is a senior high school. The students wear uniforms even though it is a public school. They have four uniforms that they rotate through...each day they wear they same uniform. They attend school from Monday through Saturday and from 6:00 to 3:00 each day. I have been immensely impressed with their concentration and attention. As this month is Ramadan and they are fasting students wake up before 4:00 am each day for breakfast and then fast all day until they eat around 5:00 pm. The classrooms are extremely hot and this beautiful green country is humid humid humid...yet students are still eager to learn and are attentive.
Schools do not have names like ours. They are named according to their level and numbered based on how many of that level are in that city. SMA 2 is Sekayu senior high and the second senior high in Sekayu.
Hopefully this answers some of your questions. If you have any more please post questions and I will try and answer them or find the answer to them.
Hope you enjoy these pics!
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