Supreme Court bans national examination

Jakarta, NU Online
National Education Minister Muhammad Nuh says the government will seek for a case review against a ruling by the Supreme Court, which requires that the government revoke the controversial national final exam.

The Supreme Court delivered its verdict on Sept. 14, 2009 in favor of a civilian lawsuit, but the verdict was only made public on Tuesday.<>

Nuh said the government would seek a case review against the verdict.

“We have to respect the decision, but also want others to respect our rights to seek legal efforts to defend our case,” Nuh was quoted by The Jakarta Post as saying.

Head of the National Education Standard Agency (BNSP), Mungkin Eddy Wibowo, said in Semarang that the government would keep organizing the final exam in 2010 despite the court’s ruling, Antara reported.

“Yes, there has been prevalent fraud in the implementation of the national exam, but we have conduct evaluations and improvements every year,” he said.

Those against the national exam cite the disparities educations across the country, arguing instead for local level exams.

The Central Jakarta District Court said in its verdict issued on May 21, 2007 hat the government had failed to protect the rights of citizens who were deprived of a chance to pursue education at a higher level because they did not pass the government-sanctioned national exam.

The government’s appeal at the Jakarta High Court was rejected. The provincial court upheld the lower court’s decision on Dec. 6 2007.

Despite the high court's decision, the government still organized national examinations in 2008 and 2009.

The Supreme Court's verdict, dated Sept. 14, said that the national examinations that the government conducted in 2008 and 2009 were against the law, and therefore, the government may not anymore organize another national examination. (dar)