Education 'needs to promote pluralism'<\/p>\n
M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Arguing that the New Order's legacy of intolerance is still
\nprevalent, an expert has suggested that it is high time for the
\ngovernment to design new curricula that will promote pluralism
\namong students.<\/p>\n
Sociologist Melanie Budianta said on Friday that as a result
\nof more than 30 years of the \"selective pluralism\" promoted by
\nthe New Order, which only recognized certain groups in society,
\neducational institutions had been turned into vehicles for
\nsuppressing differences in society.<\/p>\n
The professor at the University of Indonesia said that among
\nthe first things that needed to be done to overcome this legacy
\nwas to draw up pluralist curricula<\/p>\n
\"Rewrite Indonesian history to allow more room for
\nacknowledging the contributions made by groups that have been
\nmarginalized in cultural memory or written history,\" Melanie told
\na two-day seminar jointly organized by the International Center
\nfor Islam and Pluralism (ICIP) and the European Union (EU).<\/p>\n
Melanie said that history also needed to be rewritten from the
\npoints of view of those who had fallen victim to religious or
\nethnic conflicts.<\/p>\n
She also said that in the midst of differences between
\nstudents, a new type of education was needed to facilitate
\npersonal and cross-cultural experiences.<\/p>\n
However, the government also had to improve the quality of the
\nteachers who would be tasked with relaying messages of
\nmulticulturalism. \"Even if books on multiculturalism are
\nproduced, who can teach and use them? Our teachers still need to
\nfree themselves from prejudices,\" she said.<\/p>\n
In a country of around 300 ethnic groups and many religions,
\nthe regime of former President Soeharto formally acknowledged
\ndiversity, but excluded a number of groups and disowned a number
\nof religious beliefs adhered to by many in the community.<\/p>\n
The government also dissuaded people from talking about
\nintercommunal differences (known by an Indonesian acronym as
\n\"SARA\", or ethnicity, religion, race and class), fearing that
\nthese could spark conflicts.<\/p>\n
Since the fall of Soeharto and the loosening of his regime's
\ngrip on society, a series of communal clashes have shaken the
\ncountry.<\/p>\n
Melanie also said that the media could play a role in
\ndismantling cultural biases and intergroup prejudices.<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post's chief editor Endy M. Bayuni said the media
\ncould teach the public about how people of different religious
\nbeliefs and from different ethnic groups could co-exist in peace.<\/p>\n
The media, however, could also aggravate conflict, said the
\nhead of Kompas daily's research and development department,
\nDaniel Dhakidae.<\/p>\n
\"There were two different newspapers owned by the same group
\nthat were targeted at the two conflicting communities in Maluku,
\nand both tended to exacerbate the conflict between the two
\ncommunities,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Daniel also said that the need to always seek news and promote
\nnovelty had often led the media to sideline the issue of
\nmulticulturalism.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/education-needs-to-promote-pluralism-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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