At a glance: Indonesia

Real lives

Indonesia: Pink elephants and marbles energize education

© UNICEF Indonesia/2003/Dillon

Student-run radio broadcasts in action

“Assalamu’alaikum, in the name of God most gracious and most merciful, this is Nila Megasari and you are listening to 97 FM, MBS radio. Here are today’s stories about the adventures of the pink elephant and his friends the cats, for the students at Kalisari elementary school.”

 The 3 p.m. broadcast is a must for all. A steady diet of children’s stories are read on-air by a select group of high-achievers among the 330-strong Kalisari student body. In addition, all school assignments are read out, class by class, reaching all radios within a two-kilometre radius and all but three of the students’ homes.

Although the land around Kalisari is fertile, the area, in the Banyumas district, remains extremely poor. Some 70 per cent of families survive from farm labour and small home industries according to school officials. The broadcast is deliberately timed to reach homes in the mid-afternoon so that parents would be encouraged to allow their children to return from the fields three hours before sunset to do their homework. “There are three basic pillars to the Creating Learning Communities for Children (CLCC) concept: school-based management; active, joyful and effective learning; and community participation.”

This school-based radio project was created with UNICEF assistance and over the past four years, 115 of the roughly 940 elementary schools in the Banyumas district have embraced UNICEF’s programme called Creating Learning Communities for Children (CLCC). CLCC is part of a nationwide, joint initiative between UNICEF, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), New Zealand AID, the Indonesian Ministry of Education and the local government. The programme is running in six other Central Java districts and schools in seven other provinces in Indonesia: East Java, West Java, South Sulawesi, East Nusa Tenggara, West Nusa Tenggara, Maluku and Papua.

© UNICEF Indonesia/2003/Dillon

Karanglo students study science

Expanding on traditional teaching methods

At Karanglo elementary school, just north of Purwokerto, the educational theories behind active, joyful and effective learning are put into practice.

“We like to do our work this way because it makes school more enjoyable,” says Betti Yulia Kusumaningrum, who, at 11, is just old enough to remember the previous system. “Before it was so boring just sitting there every day only listening to the teacher talk. Now we are much more encouraged to ask our questions. Our teacher guides and assists us but we do the work.”

Well-thumbed magazines hang from the outside walls of the classrooms and administration buildings, which are arranged in a horseshoe around a central volleyball and basketball court. Several small groups of children huddle over outdoor science projects; the walls of the bright classrooms are covered with students’ work; home-made mobiles hang from the ceilings, and a reading area has several tables displaying individual and class projects.

“You only have to look at the classes to see that this new process is working, that the children have new creativity and that they are getting better grades in their tests because they are enjoying the experience of being in school,” says Agus Warsite, head of the Parents Advisory Board and the father of two Karanglo pupils. “But now the whole village is involved.”

“We have a saying here: it is far harder to go from zero to one than it is from one to a thousand,” says Ibu Heriyanti, a fifth grade teacher. “Getting the programme started was very tough. The traditional way is very easy. Teaching involves just standing up and talking. We’ve got a lot of preparation before class but now that we’re involved in the system it is much easier and much more satisfying. Students, teachers, everyone is happy.”

Back at MBS Radio, the tale of the pink elephant is winding up and Novi Komaluayu, 12, is preparing to read the afternoon’s homework assignments. “I want to be a journalist so this is very good practice for me,” says Novi. “I like to give children their assignments and read stories. My mother is very proud to hear my voice on the radio!”