NGANJUK IN PICTURES: Teachers As Leaders

From Nganjuk: SDN Sonoageng 2 Prambon
Before And After MBE

SDN Sonoageng 2 is situated in Prambon sub-district at the eastern end of Nganjuk on the border with Kediri district. The school which is led by Bpk Muchtarom, is undergoing considerable change: from being a conventional school, into becoming a typical PAKEM school. This is a welcome change.

The commitment and enthusiasm of all the stakeholders in the school has totally changed the school, from being a ‘clean school’ (no displays of students’ work) to a school that is full of displays. This can be seen from the amount of students’ work displayed on display boards or on the classroom walls. It is clear that the students and teachers are really enjoying the teaching and learning processes.

In the photo above left: Ibu Mamik, a grade 1 and 2 teacher with her students in the classroom before the PAKEM training, while on the right you can see the ‘new class’ with the flavor of PAKEM.

On the right is a piece of student work from grade 1 at SDN Sonoageng 2 Prambon. Firstly the student observed, and then described parts of the human anatomy and drew a simple sketch of the human body.

Grade 4 Parents Group at SDIT Baitul Izzah, Nganjuk.

Nganjuk district was not familiar with the concept of class parents groups. Some people thought it meant ‘additional fees’. But that notion quickly disappear-ed when a parents group was formed at SDIT Baitul Izzah. The group is led by Bpk Agus Salim and is made up of mem-bers from various pro-fessional backgrounds. However they have a strong commitment to the education of their children.

On Saturday, 24 December 2005 the grade 4 parents group met and drew up a number of programs including:

• Class visits by parents, or so called Peeping Teachers.

• Parents visiting the classroom as resource persons.

• Reading corners in the classrooms

• Study visits to the field.

• Life skills programs to be developed by parents

• Providing additional learning aids in the classrooms.

• Supporting the school committee program by producing a monthly bulletin.

• Planning a Switch-Off-TV program in households between Sundays and Fridays from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. so that students can focus more on their learning and praying.

• Supervising children reading to prepare for their lessons.

Legislative Support for MBE Program in Nganjuk

A number of members of Committee D from the local parliament in Nganjuk went to observe and monitor the impact and application in schools of the SBM, Community Participation and PAKEM training.

Bpk Didik Yudianto, a member of committe D explained this at a meeting of primary school principals in Prambon sub-district. At the meeting he emphasized the important role of parents and the school committee in school management and in supporting students’ learning. The photo above shows Bpk Didik (left) with Bpk Arief Mahatma, Head of Administration of the Education Office in Nganjuk district, who also acts as secretary of the MBE Program Implementation Team in Nganjuk.

Besides this, the support of Commttee D was evident during a study visit to Probolinggo to look at the progress of MBE in that district so that it could serve as a reference point for the program in Nganjuk. The Nganjuk local parliament has been paying a lot of attention to the development of other aspects of MBE Programs. This was evident through their recent attendance at a recent Mapping and Formula Funding Team meeting in Nganjuk. We hope that this excellent partnership will continue.