District Budget Allocated for Replication THE DISTRICT Secretary of North Tapanuli, Drs. Sanggam Hutagalung, MM, at the opening of DBE3 workshop, asked the District Education Office to develop a DBE3 follow-up program. According to pak Hutagalung, teachers who have been trained by DBE3 are of great benefit to North Tapanuli. Furthermore, he asked the Education Office to develop a five year work plan to make the best use of the teachers trained by DBE3. Sekda, Sanggam Hutagalung, MM bersama DR. Tagor Pangaribuan, Dekan FKIP Nommensen mengunjungi stand pameran pendidikan sekolah mitra DBE 3 di Kabupaten Tapanuli Utara. The workshop was held on May 4 in a meeting hall in Tarutung. The ten partner schools in North Tapanuli were involved in the workshop, where they set up exhibitions show the changes in their schools. During a visit to a partner school, SMPN 1 Tarutung, pak Hutagalung spent his time asking the students about the work they had produced. He concluded that the student's work was indeed produced by themselves. During the presentation sessions, a student of SMPN 1 Siborong-borong interviewed the Dean of the Education Faculty of Nommensen University, Dr. Tagor Pangaribuan. The interview was conducted in English. The student interviewed showed his competency in English. This interview was set up to demonstrate both the impact of changes in learning practices and encourage the student's self-confidence. The workshop ended by expressing its hope that the district government would disseminate and replicate DBE3 programs to improve the quality of education. The Education Office has made an allocation in the district budget for replication and dissemination.

DBE3 Showcase Meetings Win Support

THE DBE3 Good Practice Showcases which have taken place in partner districts in North Sumatera gained great support for the program. The government and parliament (DPRD) who took part in the workshops gave their support the DBE3. The chairman of local parliament (DPRD) in Dairi, Delphi Masdiana Ujung, SH, M.Si, extended his gratitude and appreciation to DBE3 after listening to a presentation by pak Gultom from SMPN 1 Sumbul Dairi about learning innovation. Pak Gultom was one of the resource perons who made presentations at this workshop at at the Cultural Hall in Sidikalang, on June 12, 2010.

At this workshop, the government and local parliament (DPRD) agreed to make a commitment to disseminate the good practices developed by DBE3. "Should the government seek to allocate a budget to disseminate the good practices, we will approve it," said pak Delphi.

Meeting with Local Parliament

The showcase workshop in Binjai was held on May 3, 2010. The workshop was opened by the Mayor of Binjai, Ali Umri, SH. Following the workshop, as a sign of support for the DBE3 program from Commission C of the local parliament, the Binjai parliament invited DBE3 for a meeting on May 10, 2010.

The meeting also involved the Office of Education, the Office of Religious Affairs and partner schools in Binjai. During the meeting the Commission C stated their appreciation of what DBE3 has achieved in Binjai. They also expressed their hope that the good practices can be disseminated to other schools in Binjai. To follow this up, the parliament will meet with the Education Office, the Religious Affairs Office, and DBE3 to discuss more detailed steps.

Changes in Learning Activities

In South Tapanuli, the workshop was held at MAN 2 Padangsidempuan on May 6, 2010. The workshop participants were invited to observe lessons in DBE3 partner schools. During the visits, the participants were able observe learning activities in the classrooms. From their observations the participants learned that the students were not just seated in groups but were active in expressing their ideas. Teachers were not acting as the only source of learning. Rather, they acted as facilitators.