New Minister, New Rules

“New minister, new curriculum. New minister, new rules.” This mantra often comes up during changes in Cabinet, especially regarding the Education and Culture Ministry.

Kompas/Heru Sri Kumoro

Education and Culture Minister Nadiem Makarim smiles at the camera on Thursday (12/12/2019) during a lull in a working meeting with the House Commission X at the Senayan legislative complex in Central Jakarta. He discussed topics such as the school zoning system, a plan to abolish the national exams and the 2020 education budget.

The sentence succinctly portrays the concerns of communities, students, parents, teachers and other stakeholders in national education. A new education ministry is often followed by uncertainty as curriculums, rules and the education system can change at any time.

In less than two months after he was inaugurated as education and culture minister, Nadiem Anwar Makarim on Wednesday (11/12/2019) issued an education policy package named Merdeka Belajar ( Freedom to Learn). It contains four new rules for the immediate future: the national standardized school exam (USBN) will be managed by schools starting from 2020; the national exam (UN) will be dropped from 2021 onwards to be replaced with a minimum competency assessment and a character survey administered for students in the fourth, eighth and 11th grades. The policy will also mandate a simplification of the learning plan (RPP) so that teachers will enjoy more time teaching students, and new student enrollment based on zoning will be made more flexible (Kompas, 12-13/12/2019).