Yesterday on "Surat Pembaca" (reader's mail) Kompas, there was this mail regarding "Ujian Nasional" (national exam). A father mentioned that her daughter phoned him while crying mentioned that the examination was too difficult. And she saw people around her were cheating using solution key which had leaked out a day before.

The father mentioned that her daughter was educated as an honest person. And she would not resort to any cheating method.

That would be very great, but in my opinion: this father has failed to educate her daughter to be smart!

Indonesia now has a very serious problem. The quality of its education compared with Malaysia and Philippines (same countries as Indonesia with the same notion: "maid country") is very pale in comparison (as mentioned by vice president JK). The only way to put a standard on our education is by enforcing a national exam. Based on this the quality of graduates can be standardized.

Back to the father's problem. If her daughter is very honest, then why she need to cry?
Whatever will her exam result be, it will be her very finest result. Be proud of this. Why should you compare it to other dishonest person?
Should other dishonest person come out more successfully than you, than let it be. It is how this world works: nothing is fair and square. But you will now deep down in your heart, that you are not taking the easy path.
Be proud! For whatever is the result! Because you obtain it fairly, and because it really reflects your quality. Even if you have to redo your whole year of study. So what?! It will be a small deal compared to continue to higher education level with limited knowledge and skills.

UNLESS you haven't studied that hard and you regret it.

Crying is only for the weak.

To put my experience (because once upon a time I also sat as high school student):
Compared to public school, what we've been through as private school students were much much worse.

We always had two examinations to determine whether we could pass to the next grade or not. One examination was school's exam, and another examination was government's exam. School's exam was always come in much much more difficulty level that the government's. We had two weeks in examination period compared to our friends in public school who only had one week. The failure rate on school's exam was so ridiculously high that we always scored around 20% "casualties" (student who forced to change school) for every batch of students.

We often asked why we had to experience all these difficulties. But crying was the most useless solution. And praying came in the second. The only solution was to pick up your pen, books, and brain and started to study hard.

And so that was it, sorry to say, but National Exam was a breeze! Nobody care much to get the "leaked answer key", REALLY! Why bother to put any effort on a "relatively easy" examination, when you had experienced the difficult one?

That was on 2001. Demands and challenges grow with time. But the solution is still the same. Study hard! Forget the prayer and cries! God will be there, but He will not help you in answering the questions (He always busy with something else, don't you know?).

Now since I also sit in class as a student, I've felt nothing is useless. My years in school, my years in undergraduate study, and my years in working, everything contributes greatly and provides a very sound foundation to every step I make.

My advice as a fellow student: Stay honest, you may pray but it will do you nothing good at all, and start studying! Be proud of the result, whatever it is, and celebrate it!