Problems
Education is pressing need for West Papua. In fact, currently West Papua still has a poor education as well as poor human resources. In this occasion I try to flatten what problems cover education field in West Papua commonly. In hope it could pay attention to government (local even central government), local society in particular and all society in Indonesian archipelago, even to us as remote teachers.
The first three problems were taken from an article published by International Education Journal entitled “Educational investment in conflict areas of Indonesia: The case of West Papua Province” written by Julius Ary Mollet match with writer’s observation and experience teaching in Papua highland remote area, the problems are:
1. Shortage of teachers
A teacher shortage particularly at the primary and secondary levels in West Papua meant that not all school-aged children attended school. The Indonesian government recruited teachers from West Papua and other parts of Indonesia with limited success. It was common in remote areas for army and police personnel who were stationed in the area to give technical assistance by teaching in schools.
Teachers are reluctant to teach in remote areas for the following reasons; the first is the lack of facilities and social services such as adequate housing for teachers and limited health care. Teachers often live in houses that belong to local people and it is very hard for teachers if they want to bring their families to the remote area. There are no social services in some highland areas of the province due to a lack of health care unit and medical staff. The second is a lack of transportation. It is common for teachers who work in remote areas to use small engine planes where there are only flights to remote area. The third is lack of incentives for teachers to work in remote areas. It should be noted cost of living in remote area is expensive compared to that in urban areas. Therefore, without additional incentives for teachers in remote areas, they cannot survive. The last reason is irregular salary payments to teachers in remote areas. They must go to the regency centre to obtain their salary every three to six months
2. Inappropriate curriculum
Like other provinces in Indonesia, the West Papua educational system has adopted the National Education System. This means the educational curriculum has been produced by the Ministry of Education in Jakarta and is a national curriculum. This curriculum is a controversial issue for educational experts in West Papua as the standard of curriculum is not designed for rural conditions. This curriculum is an urban standard curriculum designed for areas such as Jakarta, Yogyakarta or Surabaya. As a result, it is not surprising that West Papuan students have great difficulty adjusting to this curriculum. The national curriculum is difficult to apply in West Papua because of the local customs and the low level of basic competence of the students concerned. Up to now, not much has been done to adapt the curriculum and teaching methods to the local context.
3. Lack of student motivation
The majority West Papua population are involved in the traditional agriculture sector. They grow vegetable or staple food for their own consumption with some left over to sell in the traditional market. It is common in rural areas for students to help their parents look for food, grow crops, hunt and fish. In the harvest season, schools in rural areas do not open as no students are able to attend school as they are needed to help their parents.
4. Security problem in conflict area
Security is a crucial need wherever we live in. This is the most urgent problem faced in conflict area like West Papua. The existence of separatist movement often makes fidgetiness to citizen. It causes disabling economics and education development. We (as teachers) often find difficult to conduct teaching learning process because of safety problem. How can we develop education if there is often heard the sound of shooting guns or riffles at surrounding area.
Propose Solutions
In order to cope with the problems faced in West Papua, we all must take a part to encounter this whether government, society, teachers, students, parents.
The first problem can be solved by the government to meet the demand of teachers need such as ensuring facilities and social services (Adequate housing for teachers and limited health care); ensuring sufficient additional incentives for teachers to work in remote areas since living in remote area is expensive compared to that in urban areas (without additional incentives for teachers in remote areas, they cannot survive); and ensuring regular salary payments to teachers in remote areas.
The next problem as mentioned above, the national educational curriculum was not designed for the local context. Therefore the local curriculum should be applied and focus on real things like an orientation program involving linking and matching. The majority of the people in West Papua work in agriculture, therefore the education curriculum should be related to this sector. In addition, the national curriculum that is not relevant to real life should not be applied in West Papua. To make this a reality, the central and local governments should work together with the central and local educational experts to design a new form of curriculum that fulfils the needs of students in West Papua.
Relating to student motivation, educational investment in West Papua should focus on investing funds in educational institutions in projects such as providing and up-grading libraries, providing short term training for teachers and scholarships for the pursuit of higher certificates and degrees, adjusting the curriculum and preparing capable indigenous students to become qualified and well educated.
The last crucial problem is not only a responsibility to army or police, local society and radical movement must be aware that peace is the key to become developed region. It is impossible if we want to build up a country or even region where there is a big problem of security. That is the point!!!
Hopefully, this article can be beneficial information to achieve expected education to West Papua, Indonesia. Best regards from remote highland area of Papua. Thank you, kaonak, wa wa wa.
English Teacher at SMPN 1 Sinak
