goodmorningpapua.com – The land of Papua, a beautiful island with abundant natural resource potential and the problems following, has made it a region full of irony. The irony occurs when Tanah Papua to this day has not succeeded in maximizing the potential of its territory to improve equitable welfare for its people. Welfare is the ultimate goal of the existence of programs and the presence of the government in Papua. However, considering the current situation, it is very far to say that Tanah Papua has succeeded and developed in the right direction of development.
One of the regional development theories is about investment in 5 capitals, namely: natural capital, human resources, social, financial, and infrastructure or physical. The development of the 5 capitals must be integrated and rooted in the cultural customs of the owner of the area. There is no modern society that is culturally vacuum. South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, China and other modern countries, have technology that improves the welfare of their people according to the existing cultural context; and it should be noted that generally they are homogeneous in terms of culture, except for Singapore with 3 kinds of culture (Malay, Chinese, Indian).
What about Papua? Within Papua itself there is a lot of diversity, in simple forms like between coastal and mountain residents, then in the form of ethnicity and even clanism. How can indigenous Papuans (OAPs) become owners and stewards of these 5 capital investments? A very big challenge, considering that the capacity for ideas and imagination of these 5 capitals in the context of globalization is not yet owned. Meanwhile, expect 100% ownership and stewardship from the Central Government to create a development reality that feels foreign to OAP.
Education is one of the points of solving OAP’s HR challenges to be able to develop these 5 capitals. But so far, the quality of Papuan human resources, according to various reports and indicators, is in a fairly low ranking. This means that the education model and educational praxis that occur in Papua have not been able to produce OAP human resources of global quality. Continuing the education process as it is, “business as usual”, is futile, and what should be of greater concern is the loss of 1 generation of OAP.
Will OAP human resources be maximally ready to become actors of globalization (not just for better report cards or diplomas), if teachers, principals, and other school personnel are dedicated as educators, disciplined in teaching time and preparation, and are even proactive in enriching the learning materials provided? If the education office from the district to the provincial level is run by personnel who have knowledge of education, who are innovative, professional, and disciplined? If the efficiency of using the budget is 90% or more and is effective? If infrastructure and logistics facilities (electricity, signal, clean water) are met? If a sense of security in the villages can be created? It is no longer a “surprising” reality that many schools in Papua run every day without complete teachers, even teachers are often in other cities, including on other islands.
Based on the education data we process, from the attitude aspect, about 3% of teachers and educators have the heart to educate OAP children, and 60% can be categorized as unfit to be educators; 70% of the teachers in the main subject areas, namely Indonesian Language, Mathematics, Natural Sciences, Social Sciences, which are very good, but the mastery of many content is below the national standard KKM; 12% of teachers are in computer, physics, chemistry, biology and English, fields that are important for technology development and entrepreneurship. As we note, many schools prioritize learning about information over learning about computers. These simple data can be directly correlated with how much budget can be maximized, as well as other resources, for the sake of the future generation of OAP.
Human Resources (HR) is an important part to realize the transformation of development. Realizing competent human resources in line with the potential of the territory owned by Tanah Papua is an urgent matter that must be done immediately. Educational needs and challenges as well as the readiness of Papuan human resources in the era of globalization must be viewed more carefully, accurately and in detail. It’s not enough to look at the high-level form or format. Currently we measure the quality of Papuan education according to the format (system, personnel, process, etc.) determined by the center. Even though the center does not necessarily design its education system in accordance with the realities and needs of Papua (the other 3Ts). We must have the courage to say that the one size fits all system is wrong for a society as wide as the archipelago, because it is impossible for us to separate education from the indigenous culture of the local community. Culture must be part of the basic philosophy of education, it cannot just be Mulok (local subject) in the form of extracurricular activities.
Freedom to learn that the center has declared is, in my opinion, a step by the Center to calibrate its policies, but it’s still not clear what it is. The central government “gives freedom” to every school to fill in the freedom of learning. A very brave and very extraordinary move. However, is each school able to innovate to fill independent learning with a curriculum and syllabus that is in accordance with local characteristics; or what percentage of schools will be able to be creative and innovate to fill independent learning, projectbased learning, with learning programs that maximize their human resources against their assets in the context of globalization? With the reality of human resources in Papua, and the rhythm of schooling that does not meet the specifications of normative school standards, freedom of learning will be a big challenge. It is very likely that schools, in this case principals and teachers, will continue to use Kurtilas-2013 or even KTSP as their curriculum.
Education in Papua needs to bring students to know and be able to develop the assets they have, those assets are themselves as human beings created by God, their cultural customs, and their natural environment. These three assets must become highly relevant in globalization. In today’s reality, education must be about studying Papuan culture and studying what modernization is from the OAP perspective. The philosophy of traditional Papuan education, in any tribe in Papua, is about skill building. Students are taught to master a skill that is useful for continuing life in a community, so that cultural customs can be sustainable. Education makes people love and proud of the existing life.
This reality is complete and complete to be used as learning material and study material for Papuan culture and modernization. All theories and knowledge become relevant and needed to strengthen the learning materials, curriculum mapping and syllabus become an educational strategy and program that will be able to prepare relevant OAP HR ready to compete in globalization. Papuan children will be able to master mathematics from linear to non-linear concepts.
Papua must transform the operational quality of its education system. There must be a critical awareness that is built from the various stakeholders involved in it, namely those who are currently directly involved in the education system in Tanah Papua, as well as those in the province, central, and even the private sector.