Education bill poses problems

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Massive demonstrations for and against the controversial education bill continued on Friday with warnings that its endorsement will pose a serious threat to national unity.

In observance of the National Education Day that falls on May 2 annually, thousands of students and teachers in Jakarta and other cities nationwide hit the streets to express their stances on the bill.

A group representing a Muslim school strongly urged the House of Representatives and the government to endorse the bill, while another, which grouped several Christian and Catholic schools, expressed their opposition to it. The latter group also warned that the disparity in the response to the bill reflected upon the consequences of its endorsement, and that it could endanger the long-standing national unity.

Around 500 protesters from the West Java Commission on Education (KPPNJB) in Bandung opposed the bill, saying that it would threaten the country's pluralistic nature.

"The bill is a potential threat to the country's pluralistic nature and its freedom, and it neglects the poor's right to education," Salomo Marbun of the committee said.

In the South Sulawesi capital of Makassar, hundreds of Muslim students marched in opposition to the bill, saying that it invited imperialists to Indonesia, as it allows foreign investment in the education sector.

The protesters also said that the bill was undemocratic, as it failed to accommodate the interests of all groups.

The bill, the endorsement of which has been delayed for technical reasons, has sparked sharp criticisms and strong opposition from numerous groups for several contentious articles.

For example, Article 13 of the bill requires all schools to provide religious instruction to students according to the students' respective faiths, no matter the denomination of the school.

Christian and Catholic schools, their students and teachers have expressed their objection to the bill, which they said would threaten national unity. They accepted the fact that all citizens have a right to religious education, but they disagreed with educational institutions being given the responsibility.

President Megawati Soekarnoputri has maintained her silence on the controversial education bill that has caused a heated polemic among the people.

Attending the celebration of National Education Day at an elementary school in Subang, West Java, on Friday, Megawati gave no comments on the issue, but insisted on the importance of religious instruction or ethics in the curriculum to counterbalance the other sciences.

"Education should provide a balance between intellectual capability, and emotional and spiritual maturity, which should begin with studying religious and moral values," Megawati said in her address at the celebration.

The President also spoke with students of Angkasa elementary school, where the ceremony was held, asking them about the country's founding president Sukarno, her father.

Responding to the continuing protests, Minister for Religious Affairs Said Agil Munawar called on all sides to sit together to discuss the bill, saying that the bill was final, but that the government would provide special religion instructors.

Meanwhile, eight youth organizations of different denominations, as well as a nationalist organization, said in a joint statement on Friday that education should be based on the nationally accepted principle of religious pluralism.

"The bill, which lacks a clear vision on national education, will only raise antipluralism among students and finally cause national disintegration," they warned.

The bill has also raised debate among religious figures, education experts and politicians. The bill has won support from hard-line Muslim groups, but it has sparked strong opposition from non-Muslim communities and moderate Muslim groups, who said it could pose a serious threat to the religious harmony toward which all religions had worked for many years.

Education expert Conny Semiawan also warned that an anti- pluralistic bill could create social and religious disparity in society, because its implementation would likely cause antipluralism among students and religious communities.

"Such a split may happen, and it's very bad for our multicultural country to be trapped in such a situation. Education should unite a country, not split it," Conny told The Jakarta Post.

She further underlined the importance for all parties to once again gather and discuss the bill.

Earlier on Thursday, Megawati's party, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), rejected the bill, saying that it violated the amended 1945 Constitution.