Kampus Merdeka provided a few useful programs for university students to learn and grow their skills as well as experience. One of those programs is Kampus Mengajar, a program that invites students to teach in various provinces in Indonesia that aims to increase the rate of literacy and numeration. Winda, an English Literature student batch 2019, is the chosen candidate for Kampus Mengajar. She teaches at Nguan island, Batam, Riau Islands. Through this article, Winda shares her experience and explanation about Kampus Mengajar.

Winda's journey starts from the registration process. After she signed up for the program, she got an acceptance email, including a Telegram link to communicate. The next day, she received a message about the division of provinces and which group she was in. She also received materials and a week of tutorials to prepare herself and other participants for teaching. Unfortunately, the school Winda should teach hasn't known about this program yet, so she must manage letters and documents first to the education department.

The Teaching Activities 

During the teaching process, she stated that the teaching material isn't determined by Kampus Merdeka. Rather, she made the lesson plan following the students' module. The Kampus Merdeka team is still giving suggestions on making the teaching-learning process more playful using their surroundings. For example, the students learn the name of fish in the sea of Muna Island. She also changes the teaching method depending on the situation. For example, when the students get bored, she will combine teaching with games such as fun quizzes. The main language there is the Malay language, but they also understand Indonesian, which is used for the teaching-learning process.

In relation to Literature, Winda's challenge is that she finds it hard to explain the material to the students and make a conducive study environment because she hasn't learned about it. However, there are education faculty members in her group that helped her to make RPP (lesson plan), teaching planning, and methods. "The important thing is don't be afraid to ask for help and keep on learning," Winda said.

Winda and her group teach the students full-time from 8 A.M to 12 P.M because the school lacks teachers while there are so many students. While doing all those tasks, Winda is still following her university courses. However, she couldn't take as many credits as she used to do. When the website team asked her about the credit transfer, she was still unsure about it. So, if you're planning to also participate in the Kampus Mengajar program in the future, be sure to consult our department's academics first for credit transfer policies.

The Experiences

We asked Winda to share the condition and precious moments that influenced her life. 

Muna island is a region located near the sea, but it's hard and rare for clean water facilities. Everyone should pay for IDR 10.000/drum water since there is no water storage in the bathroom. If they need five drums per day, they need to pay IDR 1.000.000 only for water. Now, the electricity. PLN hasn't reached the region yet, so they need to use Genset. The fuel to make it work costs IDR 8.000/day. The electricity is only available 5 hours a day from 6-11. Since the electricity is not available for 24 hours, it is so sad to see the school does not have electricity in the morning though it is a need.

Despite the poor condition, the view is amazing there. She could spot sunrise, sunset, and starry sky every day. The island is near a few tourist spots so that she can go on exciting adventures. She also told us about heartwarming moments. The kids are also very welcome and warm to them. They are beyond happy to know they will have more teachers. Especially one of them who can teach English. The kids like to give presents to their teacher. Since their parents are working in the sea, they gave them seafood.

There is also funny incidents about Winda and her group residence in Rumah Panggung above the sea. One day, the bridge broke, thus she and her friends fell into the sea. Hearing the suspicious sound, the whole villagers came to their place to make sure they were okay. 

Winda told us that the experiences she shared here are just a little from the whole thing that happened. She also made a point about education inequality there. Education in big cities is now facilitated by gadgets that support their learning, but it costs most of the students are detached from social interaction. In contrast, the minimal gadget facilitation here didn't make the students detached. They are more social. After being involved in the field, she learned new things.

The education in Muna Island is concerning. Most of the students' parents can't read. Their way of thinking is narrow because they don't have high expectations in their life. So after they graduate from high school, they end up married. That is why Winda stated that people must reach remote regions to teach.

When Winda asked the children why they didn't go to school, they answered, "Why should I go to school if I will become a fisherman?" but it changed the moment Winda and her group came. They are so entertained and happy until the students visit their house every morning to go to school together. 

Why You Should Join This Program

If you care about education, you should join this program to support literacy and numeration rate in schools. In Winda's opinion, your knowledge will be useless if you don't share it with people who need it the most. If you are sure to join this program, you must be ready to fulfill university courses and teach kids. There are many challenges, but everything will turn out right if you have good intentions.