UASBN in Timika

Sixth-graders across the country are currently sitting their final national exam (UASBN), despite floods and poor educational facilities in remote areas.

During the three-day UASBN, which started Monday, students will be tested on three subjects – Indonesian, mathematics and science.

In Sampang, East Java, which was flooded Monday, students, such as those at the Tanwirul Islamic elementary school in Pasean village, Kota district, were forced to sit the UASBN exam in waterlogged classrooms.

“The pupils were forced to sit their final exam with their feet in the water,” school principal Atnawi told Antara.

As of 10 a.m. Monday, floods resulting from the overflowing Kemuning River in Sampang city, caused water levels to rise, plunging the villages of Panggung, Gunung Madda and Pasean, in waters as high as an adult’s thigh in some areas.

In Sidoarjo, East Java, sixth-graders at the SDN Kedung Peluk I state elementary school in Candi district, Sidoarjo regency, had to sit their exam in fear due to deteriorating classrooms.
“We had to use this room because the other rooms are rundown,” school principal Ludjeng told Antara on Monday.

He said most parts of the ceiling and roof structure had been damaged over time and the walls were full of cracks.

In Jember, East Java, students at the SDN 3 state elementary school in Kertonegoro, Jenggawah district, sat their exam in a door- and windoless classroom, as it was still under construction.

“However, the pupils seemed enthusiastic about sitting their exam in an unfinished classroom,” said school principal Bibit Widyawati.

In Timika, Mimika regency, Papua, as many as 2,602 students sat the UASBN in elementary schools in mountainous and coastal areas.

Mimika Education Office head Ausilius You told The Jakarta Post on Monday that although his office struggled distributing exam materials in hard to reach areas, it succeeded in doing so, enabling every elementary school in Mimika to hold the national exam Monday.

“We have been distributing exam materials to schools since last Sunday, using boats in coastal areas and helicopters in mountainous regions,” said You.

You said the national exam had run smoothly in every subdistrict in Timika. The exam involved an independent supervisory team from the provincial education office.

“I hope the community and parents in Mimika will help maintain order and encourage students during the national examination so it runs smoothly and successfully,” said You.

In Central Java, almost 600,000 students from elementary schools and their equivalent sat the UASBN, of whom 164 were disabled, said head of the Central Java National Examination office Nur Hadi Amiyanto in Semarang on Monday.

In Semarang, seven students from the Widya Bhakti special school sat the exam. School principal Sri Umbarwati said it was the first time her school had participated in the exam.

“That’s because we have prepared our students. We enrolled them only after we were confident they were able to sit the exam,” said Sri.