"Fortunately, each region or province has different questions of the national exams."
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The education and culture minister must be responsible for the delay in the distribution of national examination papers for senior high schools in a number of regions, a legislator said.

"I heard that the delay in the distribution of examination papers had resulted in the postponement of the exams for one to two days in a number of regions," Deputy House Speaker Priyo Budi Santoso said here on Monday.

He said that with whatever reason, the delay in the distribution of the examination papers should have not happened.

"The bad implementation of national exam this year has tarnished the credibility of national education," he said.

Priyo, who is a Golkar Party politician, said that the government should continue to assure that there would be no leakage of examination papers.

Asked whether the House of Representatives (DPR) would convene the education and culture minister over the delay on the exams in 11 provinces, Priyo said the lawmakers were now in recess.

"If the DPR`s Commission X on education affairs considered it very important to convene the minister, I will approve it," he said.

In the meantime, examinations in a number of regions such as in Southeast Sulawesi, were postponed for two days because the exam papers were not yet received by the local education services.

The education and culture ministry has announced the postponement of national examination 2013 for senior high schools in 11 provinces in central Indonesia.

The final examination has to be delayed from Monday, April 15, to Thursday, April 18, because the printing of examination papers was not ready yet, Education and Culture Minister Mohammad Nuh told the press on Sunday.

The 11 provinces that have to postpone the national exam are South Kalimantan, East Kalimantan, North Sulawesi, West Sulawesi, Central Sulawesi, South Sulawesi, Southeast Sulawesi, Bali, West Nusa Tenggara, East Nusa Tenggara and Gorontalo.

Minister Muhammad Nuh said that he had reported the postponement of national examination 2013 for senior high schools in 11 provinces to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

"We are very sorry for the exam delay due technical problems that caused the national examination 2013 in 11 provinces to be postponed," the minister said.

The final examination has to be delayed from Monday (April 15), to Thursday (April 18), because the printing of examination papers was not ready yet, he said.

In an effort to solve the national examination problem, the president has instructed the Education and Culture Ministry to investigate the obstacle that led to the postponement of the national exams, Nuh said.

"Fortunately, each region or province has different questions of the national exams," Nuh said.

According to minister, the delay was purely caused by technical problems in a printing company that prints the exam papers.
(Uu.A014/H-YH)

Editor: Priyambodo RH
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