East Nusa Tenggara Governor Viktor Bungtilu Laiskodat (left) poses with Deputy Governor Josef Nae Soi (right) after being inaugurated in 2018.- Antara
JAKARTA (The Jakarta Post/Asia News Network): East Nusa Tenggara Governor Viktor Laiskodat has proposed to the provincial education agency that senior high school should start at 5am to boost productivity among teachers and students.
In a speech to a provincial education agency meeting, Viktor, a politician from the NasDem Party, said that the proposal, if implemented, could also improve discipline and the work ethic.
"We have to change things in this town. Schools begin at 5am. Do you agree or not headmasters?" Viktor said in the speech, captured on video by one participant atvthe meeting.
Viktor said that to adjust to the new schedule, high school students should all go to sleep at 10pm and rise at 4am.
"This will only apply to senior high students. Not junior high," Viktor said.
Contacted separately, the East Nusa Tenggara Education and Culture Agency’s Linus Lusi confirmed the authenticity of the video and said that the new school hours had been implemented in one high school in the provincial capital Kupang.
"This has been implemented today and this morning everything went smoothly at SMA 6," said Linus, as quoted by Kompas.com. Linus added that the agency was currently familiarising other schools in the province before implementing the governor's suggestion.
"We must teach discipline to students," he said.
School usually starts at 7am in Indonesia, a schedule which many education experts consider to be too early.
