Education must be free

After almost sixty years of independence, education has remained a luxury only affordable to the wealthy elite (top government officials, wealthy businesspeople and the nonindigenous population). During Indonesia's independence, the stress in education was on producing intellectuals who did not care much about the fate of the common people. By entering political parties, they became aware that the involvement of ordinary people was essential to the development of nationhood and achieving national goals.

Today's education, from elementary to secondary and high school and even to university level, must be free to people at every level in society. Then, students must be fully aware that everything should be weighed up in the global perspective, including competition in trade and human skills.

It has become imperative, for the majority of the people, that education must be free at all levels, something they may still dream about for another fifty years perhaps. More than anything else, today's Indonesian leaders in polities and those deeply concerned with the intellectual well-being of future generations, should do whatever is in their power to make education free for them rather than merely improving the system, or reaching for the intellectual high ground.

Stress should be put on creating trustworthy personalities ready to sacrifice their interests for the good of others. It is a sin to create a generation of hungry young people deprived of their right to a basic education in a potentially rich country such as Indonesia, when even public demonstrations do not help any more.

GANDHI SUKARDI

Jakarta