Education bill needs revision due to lack of vision<\/p>\n
Debbie A. Lubis, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Educationists are urging the government to revise the education
\nbill, citing lack of vision and focus, before it becomes law in
\nAugust of this year.<\/p>\n
Harimurti Kridalaksana, the rector of Atma Jaya University
\nsaid that the bill had failed to provide a platform for the
\ndevelopment of national education.<\/p>\n
Summarizing the results of an education seminar held by his
\nuniversity last Wednesday, he said that the government should
\nexplain in the education bill about the goals it was aiming for
\nand provide clear directions about how these were to be achieved.<\/p>\n
\"The bill does not mention clearly what goals we want to
\nachieve in the future and how we are to assess our present
\nweaknesses,\" he told The Jakarta Post on Friday.<\/p>\n
The bill, which was drafted by the House of Representatives
\nwith the help of a government-appointed team, is intended to
\nreplace the 1989 education law in a bid to keep up with the
\nlatest developments in the education sector.<\/p>\n
Harimurti criticized the bill for its erroneous vision on
\neducation. He said that the bill was defective in this regard as
\nit identified education as a social institution.<\/p>\n
\"An institution is the end result, a product which cannot be
\ndeveloped anymore. But education is the process of making people
\nbecome qualified,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Harimurti said that the bill focused more on technical and
\noperational matters rather than the philosophical aspects. \"There
\nis an article stating the punishments for universities that issue
\nfake degrees. We believe that technical things like this should
\nbe accommodated in a government regulation or a ministerial
\ndecree,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He added that the bill also focused more on formal education,
\nwhich was only a small part of overall education. Instead, the
\nbill should have explained the differences between informal and
\nnon-formal education in more detail.<\/p>\n
Harimurti emphasized the government's commitment to regulating
\nteachers' development as teachers were the key players in
\neducation.<\/p>\n
\"Teachers should be well-equipped with superb teaching methods
\nso that they are competent enough to manage a competence-based
\ncurriculum,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Harimurti warned the government and regional administrations
\nto not take the development of national education for granted.
\n\"They should not only provide an appropriate budget for education
\nbut also realize the importance of education and put priority on
\nit,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The seminar was full of criticism of the education bill.<\/p>\n
Paulus Suparno, the rector of Sanata Dharma University, said
\nduring the seminar that the bill was still not conducive for
\ncreating good relations among religions.<\/p>\n
\"The bill should give students freedom to choose what
\nreligious classes they wish to join. It should also set out clear
\nrules for students who do not adhere to any of the official
\nreligions,\" he said.<\/p>\n
J. Sudarminta, the rector of the Driyakarya Institute of
\nPhilosophy, emphasized that the bill only focused on various
\nkinds of educational workers, instead of elaborating on their
\nfunctions and duties.<\/p>\n
\"The bill should provide clear directions on how to improve
\nthe quality of national education because it states that the
\ngovernment and regional administrations should make
\nimprovements,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Elsewhere, Paulus Wirotomo, head of the Department of Social
\nDevelopment Management at the University of Indonesia, said that
\nthe bill did not give any real authority to society, including
\nparents, individuals, social organizations, and private companies
\nin participating in the development of education.<\/p>\n
\"It is not clear whether they are allowed to get involved as
\nfollowers or actors who actively color the development of our
\nnational education,\" he said.<\/p>",
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