Taruna Nusantara

Seal's Inscription	"Satu Nusa, Satu Bangsa, Satu Bahasa" ("One Motherland, One Nation, One Language")
Established	1990
School type	Private, Co-educational Boarding school
US Grade Equivalent	Grade 10-12
Principal	Djuwari Sarmyanto
Location	Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia
Enrollment	315 pupils/year
Total Alumni (1992-2008)	4,500 (approx.)
Average Class Size	35 pupils
Color	Blue
Homepage	[http://www.taruna-nusantara-mgl.sch.id Visit]

Taruna Nusantara (also affectionately called "Tarnus" or "TN") is a boarding senior high school located in small town of Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia. The school gains reputation from its strong emphasis on national values and military-like disciplines, in addition to exceptional academic and leadership achievements.

"Taruna Nusantara" can be liberally translated as "Patriot of The Archipelago." The word "Taruna" itself also generally refers to Indonesia's military cadet, which has no direct relation to and should not be confused with the school and its students.

History

The embryonic idea of the school development was coined by then- Indonesian Minister of Defense and Security, Gen. Leonardus Benjamin Moerdani in 1985. He envisioned a civilian school that is able to educate country's best talents and produce graduates who can continue carrying forward the national mission set by the nation's founding fathers [http://www.taruna-nusantara-mgl.sch.id/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=127&Itemid=47] . It was then followed by the signing of MoU by Indonesian Armed Forces and "Taman Siswa," which is historically among the first local and formal educational groups in Indonesia, to set up and support a foundation called "Lembaga Perguruan Taman Taruna Nusantara" (LPTTN). It is this foundation that eventually crystallised Gen. Moerdani's vision, and subsequently oversee the operational process of the school.

The school was unveiled by the then- Commander of Armed Forces, Gen. Try Sutrisno in 1990. The whole campus, consisted of the school compound, students' dormitories and teachers' housing complex, occupied a 18.5 ha site, donated by the neighboring "National Military Academy". During the first six years, the school constantly admitted 245 male students every year. Starting from 1996, it became a co-ed school by accepting the first batch of 70 female students, and to accommodate this change, the school area was expanded to 23 hectares.

To be able to attract outstanding teenagers from diverse levels of society, the school, backed by the politically- and financially-strong Armed Forces, offered full scholarship to all students. Its teachers also enjoyed above-average salary and facilities. However, after the severe Asian currency crisis in 1997 and the change of national political landscape thereafter, the school faced financial difficulties and subsequently withdrew its scholarship scheme in 2002 or when accepting its thirteenth batch of student. To date, some needy students still receive the scholarship, which is sponsored by private corporations, local and regional governments, or its alumni.

Features

Although the school is sometimes referred to military-like discipline, it is not in any way directly similar with the military. As the school curricula derived from national education curriculum system, all the students merely are the same with others senior high school in Indonesia. However, there are many differentiation between this school and others indicated in some particular environments and conditions such as the unity of all education elements in a location and the unique system of daily lives and activities around the school. In contrary to popular beliefs, the school's graduating students do not have any mandatory options in response to their school continuity, for instance there is no obligation for them to go to any military academy. In fact, mostly the school's graduated students nowadays, continued their education to their chosen universities, and in many cases the number is far higher than those who joined the military academy.

election process

The school adopts a rigorous screening process to all the applicants before they can be admitted, ranging from academical, physical and psychological tests, health check, and interview. Generally, the screening team would accept those who have the strong aptitude, ideological vision, leadership potential and physical endurance.

Curriculum

In delivering its lessons and developing its pupils, the school focuses on the three aspects: nationalism, patriotism, and national culture. These aspects are reflected in its curriculum: besides studying based on the compulsory national curricula, the students must take special subjects which are not taught elsewhere to people in their age, namely Leadership, Nationalism and National Defence. [http://www.taruna-nusantara-mgl.sch.id/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=128&Itemid=48]

Leadership development programs

In order to prepare its students to become a leader in their respective fields and contribute back to the society, the school actively provides various leadership opportunities through a combination of both theoretical concepts and practical application of leadership principles [http://www.taruna-nusantara-mgl.sch.id/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=129&Itemid=49] . The theoretical concepts of leadership is a unique part of the curricular structure of the school, which includes classroom lectures on leadership theories, organizational behavior and public speaking, just to name a few. The students are expected to apply what they have learned in the classroom to real-life situation through an array of extracurricular activities. In order to make sure that leadership opportunities are available to each and every students, and not only the selected few, the school also have a rotation program, where all students are alternatingly being assigned to a classroom and/or dormitory coordinator position for one whole week.

Tradition

Despite its relatively young age, the school has built its own unique tradition in order to create stronger bond between the students and their alma mater. Among them are:
* Three-month basic education process. All pupils in their first three months of freshman year are required to join this basic education process, which may consist of nationalism education and basic military training. During this period, they are not allowed to make any contact with outside parties, including their own families; the purpose being is to strengthen their independence and self-confident.
* Journey of Gen. Sudirman. A national hero during the Indonesia's struggle for independence from the Dutch, Gen. Sudirman has been adopted as the students' role model. It is therefore compulsory for them to take part in a journey on foot to jungles and mountains, simulating similar historic journey led by the General during his guerilla action circa 1950. The journey follows a 40 km (about 24.8 mil) route and takes about four days to complete.
*Camps and social works. To stay inclusive with the surrounding societies and environment, students have some regular camps and social works to attend. In many cases, the camps require them to stay in wilderness under minimal supervision, a method believed to cultivate their sense of survival.

Extracurricular activities

To give students an opportunity to express their talent and creativity as well as nurturing their leadership capability, the school provided a wide range of extracurricular activities. Some extracurricular activities that are available at Taruna Nusantara includes the Student Board Organization ("Organisasi Siswa Intra Sekolah / OSIS"), Student Representatives ("Perwakilan Kelas / PK"), Ceremonial Platoon ("Peleton Upacara / Tonpara"), School Security Patrol ("Patroli Keamanan Sekolah / PKS"), Honorary Symbol Section ("Pasukan Tanda Kehormatan / Pataka"), "Gita Bahana Nusantara" Drum Band ("GBNDB")(formerly "Gita Bahana Nusantara" Marching Band ("GBNMB")), First Aid Club, Debating Society, Sports Team (Soccer, Tennis, Volley, Swimming, Athletic), Arts and Performances ("Gamelan", "Gendang Rampak" and Band)

Principality

Another unique feature of this school is the qualification of its principals who, before the time of incumbency, were high-ranking military officers, with the exception of the first principal who previously was a rector in a reputable local university.

The principals:
* Prof Dr Tarwotjo; MSc (1990 - 1994)
* MajGen Bambang Hartoyo; MBA (1994)
* BGen drs Sadja Moeljoredjo (1994 - 1998)
* BGen Bambang Pradjuritno; LLB (1998 - 2004)
* BGen (Ret) drs Untung Susoro (2005 - 2006)
* BGen (Ret) Djuwari Sarmyanto MSc (incumbent) [http://taruna-nusantara-mgl.sch.id/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=178]

External links

* [http://www.taruna-nusantara-mgl.sch.id/ Taruna-Nusantara-mgl.sch.id] Official website
* [http://www.ikastara.org/ Ikatan Alumni Taruna Nusantara Website] Alumni website