Indonesia faces challenges in the field of human resources. The number of workers is abundant, but their education is relatively low, the Minister of Finance, Sri Mulyani said, as quoted by Kompas on March 9, 2019. The question is how to solve this problem? One of the options is to improve the quality of teachers. With qualified teachers, the quality of human resources will improve, and Indonesia’s economic conditions will also grow positively.
Looking at the newly independent Singapore in 1965, long before it was ranked first in the International Student Assessment Program (PISA) in 2015, Singapore was a poor country with limited natural resources. Now, Singapore has not only managed to record progress in the fields of trade, economy and transportation, but also in the field of education. Various educators from all over the world have even travelled all the way to Singapore to study their education system, especially for science, mathematics, and literacy subjects.
What is the secret of the success of Singapore Education? The answer is simple; clear educational curriculum delivered by qualified teachers in each school. The problem is that qualified teachers are not just born. A comprehensive system is needed to select, train, determine compensation, and develop the competencies of teachers and principals. Specifically, for competency development, in Singapore teachers are entitled to 100 hours of professional development per year.
In Indonesia, the development of the teaching profession is also the focus of the government. The principles of professionalism, qualifications, and competence of teaching staff are regulated in Law No. 14 of 2005 concerning Teachers and Lecturers. In addition, the government’s attention to the quality of education in Indonesia is also reflected through the allocation of the State Budget (APBN) for the education sector which is increasing every year. In 2019, the State Budget for education increased 10.8 percent to Rp492 trillion, with allocations for training programs around Rp900 billion, an increase of 7 percent over the previous year.
The allocation is in the form of training programs and teacher competency development, both at home and abroad. In February to April, 1,200 private and state schoolteachers were sent over three weeks to twelve countries on three continents, namely Asia, Australia and Europe, to conduct a comparative study. Domestically, various teacher professional development programs are also being carried out. The government runs Teacher Certification, Dual Skills Certification, and Teacher Professional Development (PKB) programs to ensure the quality of teaching staff. Not only for teachers, the government also conducts capacity building training for education staff for school principals and school supervisors to improve the quality of educational institutions.
Even though this series of steps reaps positive responses, further development and evaluation is still needed in the future. The Indonesian Teachers Association (PGRI), for example, voices support for increasing competence through teacher training by the government, as long as it is carried out simultaneously and periodically. Furthermore, PGRI also emphasised the need to reorient teacher training to better suit student needs. Of course, this is not just the work of the government. As one of the institutions that has great concern for the quality of human resources and education, Mentari Group was also called to take part in teacher professional development programs, namely through Mentari Teachers Academy (MTA).
MTA is a teacher training centre under Mentari Group which focuses on three subjects, namely English, mathematics, and science. To improve English language skills, three programs are available, namely English for non-English Teachers (ENET) for non-English language teaching teachers, English for English Teachers (EFET) for English language teaching teachers, and English for Principal for principals and foundation administrators (EFSM – English for School Management).
While in the field of mathematics, MTA has designed two special programs for elementary school mathematics teachers, namely Ultimaths and Maths by Topic. Ultimaths is a 5-day intensive mathematics training program that provides teachers with the right skills to teach mathematics. Whereas Maths by Topic is a continuation of the Ultimaths program to study five topics in more depth, namely Integers, Fractions, Measurements, Geometry, and Problem Solving. For junior high school mathematics teachers, MTA presents the Maths for Secondary program. In addition, MTA also has a Science for Primary program aimed at equipping elementary teachers with science pedagogy.
In the non-academic aspect, MTA provides training in human resources for educational institutions, such as leadership training and other professional development aimed at increasing the management capacity of educational institutions.
Mentari Group believes that teacher competency is one of the important assets to improve the quality of education and further the quality of Indonesian human resources. With comprehensive programs and teacher support as well as quality teaching materials, MTA is present as a forum for the development of the teaching profession and educational institutions in the country.
Source:
- At the PGRI Congress, Jokowi Reminds Teachers’ Tasks in the Digital Age
- Law of the Republic of Indonesia Number 14 of 2005 concerning Teachers and Lecturers
- Dissecting the Secrets of Finland’s Educational Success
- What other countries can learn from Singapore’s schools
- 2019 APBN Education Budget
- Ministry of Education and Culture Allocates IDR 900 Billion for Teacher Training
- The budget for MGMP is considered inappropriate
- Improve HR, 1,200 Teachers Sent to Study Abroad
- Successful, Overseas Teacher Training Program
- The Government Continues to Increase Teacher Capacity and Welfare
- Successful, Overseas Teacher Training Program
- Teacher Training Methods Need to Change
