Jakarta (ANTARA) - Head of the Educational Standards, Curriculum, and Assessment Agency (BSKAP) of the Education, Culture, Research, and Technology Ministry Anindito Aditomo has said that the Merdeka Curriculum (Independent Curriculum) has been implemented in 80 percent of schools.
The ministry is optimistic that the curriculum will become a national curriculum in 2024.
According to Aditomo here Thursday, the Merdeka Curriculum was implemented in stages from 2020. At that time, the curriculum was tested in three thousand schools across Indonesia, including in underdeveloped, frontier, and outermost (3T) regions.
In 2022, the ministry opened registrations for educational units interested in implementing the curriculum, and as many as 140 thousand educational units signed up.
He said that this year, the ministry reopened registrations, which attracted 160 thousand educational units. Thus, in total, more than 300 thousand educational units have implemented the Merdeka Curriculum so far.
"Even before the Merdeka Curriculum is established as the national curriculum, data has shown that the Merdeka Curriculum has been well-received by educational units," he observed.
The BSKAP head said that the curriculum provides flexibility for educational units to design operational curricula that suit the learning vision, mission, and needs of students.
This flexibility is expected to improve the quality of learning in schools.
He further said that the flexibility of the curriculum requires teachers to be initiative, active, and confident in designing their own operational curricula.
To make it easier for teachers to implement the curriculum, the ministry has provided several examples of operational curricula, teaching modules, and other documents on the Merdeka Mengajar (Independent Teaching) Platform.
"There is no obligation for educational units to create new documents from scratch. This change in curriculum is not a matter of administration, but of improving the quality of learning," he explained.
According to the ministry's website, the Merdeka Curriculum allows teachers to create quality learning that is tailored to the needs of students and the characteristics of the surrounding environment.
The curriculum has three characteristics: skills and character development, flexible learning, and focus on essential learning materials.
Related news: Merdeka Curriculum aimed at cultivating lifelong learners: Ministry
Related news: Merdeka Curriculum focuses on deepening student competency: minister
