The gap in quality education – which also impacts in different quality of graduates – has long taken place in Indonesian schools. Such a gap has narrowed opportunities for people, especially the impoverished ones, to access education services that are sufficient and proper. If the gap continues to take place, a big number of potential human resources will be harder to find.
Thus was said by Tuti Budirahayu, M.Si in her open doctoral examination in Sociology, Faculty od Social and Political Sciences UGM, Saturday (9/2). Tuti defended her dissertation entitled Reproduction of Gap in Quality between State Elementary Schools in the School Cultural and Structural Dynamics.
Tuti assessed that the state tends to support school stratification system, such as seen in the Rintisan Sekolah Bertaraf Internasional (RSBI).
“The impact is that many government schools or private schools are directed towards international ranking schools despite the resources that are not yet ready,” Tuti said.
After her research in two elementary schools, excellence and non-excellence, in Surabaya, Tuti saw the gap was produced by the state because the state or government -with its dominance and power- was trying to run its political mandate.
“The gap in quality education is maintained through power relation formed among state/government, society and school,” said the lecturer fron Universitas Airlangga.
Tuti affirmed that with such reality, it can become a political stage for the state to show power or success to implement its programmes or policy. Non-excellent schools are used as the stage to show its success in completing basic education programme whilst excellent schools in providing quality education services and (seems to) produce superior or talented students.
“This research is expected to become an evaluation to the state education policy. There will also appear learning programme model that gives chance to schools,” she concluded.