New leaders must promote education<\/p>\n
Simon Marcus Gower, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The first direct elections of a president in Indonesia are
\nalmost here and the candidates have often been heard to talk up
\ntheir positions on human rights and the growth of democracy for
\nthis nation.<\/p>\n
This type of rhetoric is understandable and quite familiar to
\nelection campaigns. All over the world candidates will use such
\nlanguage. They are, after all, themes that are always likely to
\nbe attention getters and ultimately vote winners. But behind all
\nthe rhetoric it is important for there to be true content.<\/p>\n
The noble notions of defending human rights and promoting
\ndemocracy cannot be realized by the rhetoric and promises being
\nmade alone. To have any hope of achieving these high ideals the
\ncandidates and the eventual winners of the race for the positions
\nof vice-president and president will have to show their strength
\nof commitment and dedication to these ideals.<\/p>\n
Perhaps there can be no greater or more convincing a way to
\nsignify their commitment and dedication to the rights of people
\nand a democratic state than through their visions and strategies
\nfor education.<\/p>\n
Education can, after all, be the seed-bed of social justice
\nand the nurturing of a truly democratic society and indeed a
\ntruly democratic \"political elite\".<\/p>\n
Education, if properly strategized and rendered, can be the
\nvery heart and soul of justice and democracy. If human rights are
\nto be realized and a democratic society to be reached and upheld,
\nit is essential to recognize that a community must have interests
\nthat are shared, that are mutually tolerated and respected and
\nultimately accommodated and, in so far as is possible, achieved.<\/p>\n
A genuinely and successful democratic society must have a
\ncommitment to education and likewise education ought to have a
\ndemocratizing effect that will help to sustain the democratic
\nsociety.<\/p>\n
A truly democratic society effectively sets aside the notion
\nof external and imposed authority in favor of a voluntary and
\nshared interest.<\/p>\n
Democracy is not just a form of government and it should not
\nbe seen as acceptable for an electorate to elect a government or
\npresident only to later step back and point the finger of blame
\nand claim a failure of the democratic process.<\/p>\n
Every individual has an input and part to play in the creation
\nand sustenance of democracy. Democracy, when addressed
\nappropriately in this manner, becomes a way of life that can be
\nliberating and so assuring of human rights and justice. The
\ninclusion of individuals in a shared interest means that the
\nindividuals have to check their own actions and interests against
\nthose of others.<\/p>\n
Democratic \"living\", then, becomes an aspect -- even an
\nattribute -- of our ability to get along and work together. We
\nmay have our differences but these need not stand in the way of
\nour abilities to co-exist in a civilized and peaceful society --
\na society that can ultimately and genuinely be called \"educated\".
\nAll of this, seemingly highly idealistic, existence can be linked
\nto the planning and provision of and for education.<\/p>\n
Education can simultaneously fulfill the broad needs of the
\nsociety or nation and the, (in theory anyway), narrower needs of
\nthe individual.<\/p>\n
Indeed there have been many historically and are many today
\nthat have powerfully argued that education can do both of these
\nthings; not least because the development of the individual can
\nbe closely linked with the aims of humanity as a whole and with
\nhuman progress.<\/p>\n
It is today, perhaps, hard to think of governments being
\npredicated on the notion of their duty to meet the educational
\nneeds of a nation. In today's complex and quite deeply insecure
\nworld, governments would probably be more readily associated with
\nnotions of keeping the nation safe from the threat of terrorism.<\/p>\n
It is far more familiar, unfortunately, to consider a
\npresident as a commander-in-chief of a nation's armed forces. But
\nwe should at least hope and really ought to expect a president to
\nbe dedicated to leadership in education.<\/p>\n
As the leader of a nation a president has, most likely above
\nall other considerations, to have a mission and vision for the
\nfuture of the nation. Such mission and vision surely has to come
\nsignificantly from the realms of education which are, ultimately,
\nthe realms of helping in preparing and equipping future
\ngenerations.<\/p>\n
Education has an irrefutable social function. Sometimes this
\nfunction has been based on religious or moral grounds. Other
\ntimes it has been based on more utilitarian or simply academic
\ndevelopment grounds. However, from whatever starting point the
\nbasis of education is conceived, there has to be a realization
\nthat education is process of the young or as yet uneducated being
\ndeveloped to participate and contribute to the society into which
\nthey will be entering.<\/p>\n
The writer is Executive Principal of the High\/Scope Indonesia
\nSchool. The opinions expressed above are personal.<\/p>",
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