The village assistant candidates who were declared to have passed the administrative and written tests, took the psychological test on June 4. If they pass the psychological test stage again, they will face a final test stage, namely a qualification evaluation test based on the candidate’s resume or CV and other supporting documents sent to the selection committee.

At this stage, their fate is completely in the hands of Team Seven, namely seven selection committee members consisting of two elements from the central government, in this case the Ministry of Villages, Development of Disadvantaged Regions and Transmigration (Kemendesa PDTT), two people from the regional government, and three people from universities.

“At this stage, the prospective village assistants can no longer do anything because the decision whether they are accepted or not is entirely in the hands of Team Seven. “Because of this, it is very possible to make decisions on accepting prospective village assistants subjectively,” said PATTIRO Executive Director Sad Dian Utomo.

Not only that, said Sad Dian, the high potential for subjective decision making by Team Seven can also occur because the participant data that will be evaluated or assessed is according to the qualifications listed in the Implementation Guidelines for the Recruitment of Village Professional Assistants only based on their level of education, empowerment experience, and long experience of empowerment. “The indicators used are still not detailed enough. “What if there is a potential companion who has the same level of education, the same amount of experience, and the same length of experience?” added Sad Dian.

Even though the implementation instructions mandate that the selection team must prioritize female companion candidates if there is the same score in the ranking based on data evaluation according to qualifications, according to Sad Dian, this is not enough. “What if there are three female village assistant candidates who have the same values? Which companion candidate will the selection team choose? This is why there needs to be additional determining criteria so that the selection of village assistants is not based on Team Seven’s preferences. “That way, the potential for entrusting village assistants can also be avoided,” he concluded.

Apart from needing to add these determining criteria, the selection committee for village assistant candidates must also disclose information about the grades and reasons for not being selected. Sad Dian said, when the final test results are announced, the selection team should make a score table which includes written test scores, psychological tests and qualification evaluation scores in the form of a ranking table. “That way, all test takers can know their scores. “With this transparency, participants’ suspicions towards the selection team and other participants can be avoided,” added Sad Dian.

Furthermore, apart from the problem of potential subjective assessment by Team Seven, PATTIRO Researcher Agus Salim revealed that there were other problems that arose during the implementation of the previous test stages, especially the written test.

At the written test implementation stage, PATTIRO found that many village assistant candidates were unable to take the exam because they arrived late at the test location. “It’s not because they are lazy or anything, but, many people are late because they received information about the test being carried out suddenly,” said Agus.

Like in the West Nusa Tenggara Province region, said Agus, many village assistant candidates received information about the implementation of the written test via email on the evening of May 27 2016. “Even though the written test will be held the next day on May 28 2016, and at that time they were in an area quite far from the location where the written test was held. Due to difficult access to transportation, even though they had left one day earlier, they were still late. “This is a pity,” said Agus.

Agus added that the government, especially the PDTT Ministry of Villages, should provide information on the implementation of the written test at least one week in advance. Not only so that participants can prepare themselves by studying, but also so that they can have sufficient time to reach the location of the written exam.

Even though this year’s recruitment of village assistants is still full of chaos, PATTIRO appreciates the government for implementing a screening scheme for village assistant candidates that is more accountable and transparent than before.

In the 2015 selection of village assistant staff, the selection committee only consisted of government elements, both provincial and central government. “At that time, the potential for government intervention in releasing his favorite companion or his entrustment was very large. But now that there are representatives from universities, such interventions can be suppressed. It’s good if it’s like this. “And it would be better if in the future civil society could be involved,” said Agus.

Apart from that, in 2015, the recruitment process for village assistants was not carried out in stages, even though there were written tests and even interviews. Agus explained, at this stage, prospective village assistants who have taken the written test can immediately take the test in the form of an interview. “There are several regions that hold the two tests on different days, but there are also regions such as West Java and Central Java that carry out the tests on the same day. “In East Java and Central Java, these two tests only apply to prospective village assistants and experts, and for local village assistants there is only a test in the form of an interview,” he explained.

This is very different from the selection of village assistants this year because it is carried out in stages and evenly. “Those who pass the administrative test can then take the written test, and so on until the final test. “That way, the village assistants who will be selected will truly have the best quality,” said Agus.

Furthermore, Agus added, information regarding the qualifications required is also detailed. The test results have also been announced transparently in a short time. “Unfortunately, the test schedule and announcement of test results have not been provided in detail from the start,” he said.

“But, hopefully in the next selection process the government can take lessons and input from various parties so that the village assistant selection process can be more accountable and transparent than the current one,” concluded Agus.

This article was published on HukumOnline.com with the title Tim Tujuh Harus Objektif.