Educational policy in credit hour system (SKS) application is prepared with the

rules within Peraturan Pemerintah No. 19 2005 and UU Sistem Pendidikan Nasional.
In the policy, it’s asserted that school categorizing independent school should
applying credit hour system.
Credit hour system (SKS) is a system within a unit of study load given to a cert
ain course for the teacher and students who take the course. A formal high schoo
l that has been being RSBI (rintisan sekolah bertaraf internasional) and indepen
dent schools are obliged to apply credit hour system or in bahasa it is Sistem K
redit Semester (SKS) within their KTSP (Kurikulum Tingkat Satuan Pendidikan). It
’s been asserted in Permendiknas Nomor 22 Tahun 2006. The schools consist of SMA
, MA, SMLB, SMK and MAK.
By credit hour system, learning is subjected on the student; for the focus is ho
w the student studying is. The student is given the opportunity to choose the co
urse being appropriated with their interest and ability (Chandramohan, 2006). In
credit hour system, the methods used focus on face to face meeting, giving stru
ctured assignments and independent learning.
Our government has been started to socialize and to apply this system in some RS
BI and independent schools in Jakarta and Nusa Tenggara Barat that should having
been started in education year 2005/2006.
While the SKS application is socialized by the government, did they think the co
nsequences and the effects? Are the students, teachers, school facilitators, and
the academicals have been ready to approve the system?
There are some aspects needed to consider in applying credit hour system in seni
or high school. Based on the experiences of many countries having applied credit
our system, it’s identified that there are weaknesses in this applying system b
eside the advantages itself.
1. Administration problem;
2. Education resources management is always changing depending on the numbe
rs of course offered in each semester;
3. Learning time planning is more arranged;
4. The students as the subject of this system still need guidance in choosi
ng the courses.
There are so many problems that the government and academicals have to be solved
before applying SKS.
1. Education quality and in our country is still low.
Point 1 is proved by the data from Departemen Pendidikan Nasional about educatio
n statistics in Indonesia year by year.
2. SKS application has no regards for psychological student’s times and the
effects of the student’s psychological development. If school applies the credi
t-hour system, the students have to more mature in planning learning activities
and observe it themselves.
The SKS application would probably cause some deviation in the student’s psychol
ogical needs satisfaction in that period of development.
3. The SKS application is not appropriate for the students and even the tea
chers mentally
By SKS system, teacher no longer has a right to decide student’s learning patter
n, but the student does. In the one hand, teacher has to be able to manage to em
ulate the student’s learning pattern. If this is so, every teacher must have pro
fessionalism so qualified that he/she is not being left or even being neglected
by the student. In applying credit hour system there will be teachers who’s left
by their students because most of the students choose to take the course teachi
ng by attractive teachers.
4. It will be harder for the schools haven’t been RSBI or independent schoo
l yet to compete or even to defend their existence. Besides, the dichotomy betwe
en government’s schools and private school still occurs in some aspects.
Schools with SKS system are asked for arranging sufficed facilities since in the
application the class method is moving class, so in each class it’s should be p
repared at least projector, internet facilities, and other requirements. It’s ca
using finance problems for many schools.
Some school and private school will get some quality crisis, economic problems,
and loss the students because most of the students choose to enter more prestigi
ous schools.
5. Some foundation with economic problems is difficult to keep the existenc
e and even to facilitate their students.