Education: Nadiems heritage in education

This article appeared for the first time in Forum, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on March 10, 2025 – March 16, 2025

My family attended a wedding at destination in Majestic Borobudur, Indonesia last week when I came across an education advisor to the former Minister of Education, Culture, Research and Nadim Anwar Makarim.

I became curious to know which reforms that Naiem had set up during his mandate from 2021 to 2024. He founded Gojek, Indonesia, the first start-up, which was evaluated at $ 10 billion US dollars before his appointment by former president Joko Widodo. His mandate has since finished.

For the perspective, we note that Indonesia is vast in every way. It has more than 52 million students and three million teachers in 300,000 schools comprising 170,000 primary schools, 42,000 high schools, 14,450 secondary schools, 14,000 professional secondary schools, 4,500 universities, 69 world schools (international baccalaureate) and an assortment of private or national schools, academies, institutes and polytechnics.

Nadiems Education Legacy comes in the form of a benchmark similar to our BluePrint by Malaysia Education (MEB), aptly named Merdeka Belajar (Freedom to Lear Progress, Cultural Independence, Data Reports, Higher Education, Sexual Violence and Quality of Reading Materials.

Interestingly, Chapter One opens on three parts, first replacing the standard national school exam (Ujian Sekolah Berstandar nasseal, USBN) by giving teachers and schools more autonomy in the evaluation of students' results and learning skills through assessments organized by schools. This would be done using the standard of individual schools thanks to a more complete approach in the form of written tests, students' projects, etc. Second, the replacement of the USBN with the national assessment, which consists of a minimum assessment of skills and a survey on civil characters, developed and modified from international assessments (PISA, TIMSS) aimed at mapping the performance and progress of student learning. This must be given to students of 4th, 8th and 11th, the education authority providing the basic line. Third, simplifying the course plans by giving teachers more autonomy more effectively and effectively learning students.

(Such an approach seems familiar. We have also abolished Upsr and PT3 and have replaced it with assessments in school environment. But parents are not satisfied. Our Minister of Education was categorical that the UPSR and the PT3 will not come back and with reason. The teachers should not take time either and that the Ministry of Education has a role to ensure that the less discussed road takes us to new peaks.)).

Chapters five and seven emphasize teachers such as the engine and movers of the education system respectively. They focus on improving the quality of human resources by throwing teachers as models and change torches; Perfect pedagogy, development centered on students and holistic; Training focusing on educational leadership by coaching during the job; And a formative approach and a collaborative and holistic instruction based on development to generate excellent future Indonesian leaders who include the six characteristics of the Pancasila student profile.

(We too, we attach the greatest importance to teachers and live by the conviction that students are only good as teachers.)

Chapter 13 promotes culture thanks to its first Indonesaise multichannel platform, which highlights the great cultural diversity of Indonesia thanks to the transfer of knowledge via audiovisuals. The partnership of artists, communities and the public as a whole favored a flourishing feeling of belonging among its multicultural peoples. Chapter 18 is an extension of this theme, where a constantly increasing endowment fund has been set up according to which profits are used on long -term orientation for the progress of the cultural sector as a whole.

(Although we have seni sekolah schools or fine arts that embody music, theater, dance and visual arts, we understand that more accent will be given in this field when the new program is revealed in 2027.)

Chapter 17 speaks of 718 regional languages, most of which are threatened. It was decided that 38 languages ​​will be revitalized in schools.

(While we are still quere on the sovereignty of the Malaysian language, the importance of English as a language of knowledge and now Mandarin as a language of activity, many efforts are also made to maintain the mother languages ​​of indigenous peoples.)

Nadiem has now given her portfolio not one but three new ministers, namely the Minister of Fundamental and Secondary Education, Abdul Muti, the Minister of Higher Education, Sciences and Technology, Satyo SOEMANTRI Brodjonegoro and the Minister of Culture, Fadli Zon. In his separation speech, he hoped that his policies, explained at length in the Merdeka Belajar series, which are already in place and continue, will be prosecuted in order to improve the quality of education and prepare graduates for real challenges.

(From the point of view of the MeB, inheritances should not be put aside or stagnant but improved and improved rather than Abolis because it is not the policy that is at fault but its implementation which needs attention.)

The classification of Indonesians in Pisa 2022 was 71st in reading, 70th in mathematics and 67th in science on 81 countries. In total, 43% of students were in the lower quintile of the socioeconomic scale. PISA 2025 will not show immediate results because the inheritances take years, even decades, to materialize.

Nevertheless, we would sincerely like to see the possible success of the heritage of the education of Nadiems while Indonesia takes its place as the fourth economic power in the world, while Malaysia is positioning itself to benefit as a large trading and tourist partner.

Datin Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim is president of the Parent Action Group for Education Malaysia, a group of educational lobbies which serves as a channel between the parents concerned, the Ministry of Education and other educational stakeholders

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