EVALUATING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF KAMPUS MENGAJAR PROGRAM IN ENHANCING INDONESIAN’S LITERACY AND NUMERACY

This study appraises the effectiveness of the Kampus Mengajar Program on improving Indonesian primary school students' competencies in literacy and numeracy. These recent evaluations show that deficiencies of competency in those two basic skills are highly alarming and call for comprehensive educational intervention. The present study will also examine the impact of the program, from the point of view of the interns, teachers, and school administrators, on how the program serves to enhance learning outcomes for the students and professional development for the interns. A mixed-methods methodology was applied, with quantitative data obtained from pre- and post-tests, complemented by semi-structured interviews for qualitative insights. In the results, the average points increase in literacy was 10.7 and numeracy 13.5. While this can be demonstrated by statistical measurements, positive qualitative feedback regarding the efficacy of teaching and collaboration substantiates these findings. Simultaneously, several difficulties remain unresolved; the majority are to the interns' preparation and alignment with the curriculum's requirements. Overall, interns felt confident in their roles, while teachers had concerns about their preparedness. The study, therefore, concluded that Kampus Mengajar Program has been highly effective for the students in enhancing their skills but at the same time pointed out the need to enhance training and support for interns. Policies should, therefore, focus on scaling up successful components of this program to ensure the interns become ready to handle the demands placed by the curriculum. These are gaps that will have to be filled if the improvements in literacy and numeracy are to be sustained across Indonesian education.