Can't build character in one day

The House of Representatives is deliberating the draft bill on the national education system. However, point 1 of Article 13 of the bill, giving students the right to receive religious instruction according to their faith from teachers who are of the same religion, has drawn controversy. Referring to the Article, The Jakarta Post's Soeryo Winoto interviewed Suyanto, rector of the University of Yogyakarta, on the relevance of religious instruction considering students' attitudes.

Questions: Many say that point 1 of Article 13 of the bill reflects our ignorance or declining understanding of pluralism. As former head of the Committee for Education Reform, do you have any comment?

Answer: What do people really think about pluralism? The principle of pluralism is accepting and respecting others, isn't it.

Isn't it only logical that students get religious instruction according to their faith from teachers of the same religion? That's pluralism.

The draft bill does not intend to corner a certain religion. Instead it respects and promotes pluralism. Everybody has the right to choose a certain religion based on their beliefs. Yet many people convert to a certain religion due to their position.

Muhammadiyah schools, for example, will let non-Muslim students get religious instruction according to their religion by teachers of the same faith. So, pluralism is respecting others, not forcing a certain religion upon others.

Q: You appear to feel very strongly about point 1 of Article 13.

A: It's not me. It's the work of a team that respects pluralism. There is no intrigue within the team.

Q: Apart from the bill issue, how effective and relevant do you think giving religious instruction to students and children is regards their behavior and attitude?

A: It's a question of methodology (of religious instruction), so if religious instruction is considered to have failed to reach its goal, it is the methodology that must be reviewed. There are times that religious instruction is still cognitive, disregarding the real value of religion. Students should be given the opportunity to understand the value of religion, which includes, among other things, honesty and discipline. This is the relevance of religious instruction regarding children's behavior.

Q: Aren't piety, good character and high morals among students more likely to be instilled at home by parents and members of the family?

A: Yes, but our Constitution has the soul to teach people about good character, piety and morality. So how should we interpret what the Constitution contains in this affair? We have (state ideology) Pancasila, which has Belief in One God as its first tenet.

Children can learn anything at home, but usually only children of well-off families do. Their parents can hire tutors for religious instruction, etc. But for children of deprived families, who are busy just providing daily meals, things are very different. How can they find the right method for religious instruction?

Q: With religious instruction given as earlier as possible, we expect children to have a good character when they grow up. But despite religious instruction taken as a main subject at school, juvenile delinquency, student brawls and other offenses are still common. Corruption is still rampant in this country. How do you view this?

A: You can imagine what would happen if religious instruction was not given earlier to a student. No, that's a joke. It's futile logic (laughing).

Many, many things can influence behavior, which can fluctuate now and then. There is no guarantee that religious people won't violate religious instruction someday. People's behavior is unpredictable. A religious figure may become a criminal one day.

Therefore, the function of religion or religious instruction is to warn us to keep on the right track. In Islam, there is high expectation among Muslims that they will die in a chusnul chatimah way (happy ending based on Islamic teaching).

We have the religious rulings and in society we have the laws governing social life.

Q: Do you think that our national education system is still relevant to the saying membangun manusia seutuhnya (developing people in an integrated and total way)?

A: That's the spirit and the ideal. But there are times we choose shortcuts. But character cannot be built in one day, can it?

Our education system does not promote creativity. So how can students be imaginative? Most students lack social skills and self-awareness because, in the past, we believed that a cognitive education system was good and successful.

However, according to the current paradigm, intelligence quotient (IQ) contributes very little to someone's success. Emotional intelligence, which contributes more, needs to be developed among students.

No wonder most elementary school students of the final grade and the first grade of junior high school (SMP) do not know what they want to be in the future and why they study certain subjects.

I once asked some students why they were studying biology. They could not answer.

When I was in Europe, I asked some junior high school students why they were taught mathematics. They said they would use mathematics to help others count something someday. But when I asked some students here why they were taught mathematics, they said because it was Thursday. Isn't that ridiculous?

We have never taught them anything meaningful. The students deserve what we call transfer of learning -- a subject on applying school lessons in real daily life. In this way they could get real experience from what they learn at school.

Q: As a comparison, in the U.S. a state school teacher can be sued for giving religious instruction as he or she would be accused of violating the students' rights. What do you think?

A: That's the consensus in the U.S. If we want to separate religion from school, first we must revoke the Constitution. Here in Indonesia, people's appreciation of education, including religion, at school is fair.

Comparing national education with education in other countries could give us a jolt.

Last year the U.S government allocated US$45 billion to its educational program called No Child Left Behind.

One university student in the U.S. spends some Rp 200 million (US$22,000) per year on his or her studies; a Malaysian student spends some Rp 40 million; and an Indonesian student spends only Rp 10 million annually. From this viewpoint, what can we expect?