Education system curbs creativity, says expert

Leony Aurora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

For the last 25 years, Indonesia's national education system has excelled at killing children's creativity, says a well-known child psychologist.

Seto Mulyadi, better known as Kak Seto, said on Thursday creativity was not acknowledged in the formal education system.

"In schools, picture of landscapes always have two mountains and a smiling sun," he said during the celebration of the 24th anniversary of the Creativity Development Foundation (YPK) at a mall in South Jakarta.

YPK founder Utami Munandar said that to develop creativity, an encouraging climate was needed in school, the family and society at large.

"Children need to feel free and safe to express their feelings and thoughts," the education psychologist said.

A member of the YPK board of advisers, Conny Semiawan, said teachers often hampered children's creativity by rigidly applying the national curriculum.

For example, a fill-in-the-blank question like, "Father goes to work, while mother ..." always has to be answered with "cooks", while in fact mothers do lots of other activities, she said.

"We will urge the government to include creativity in the national curriculum," said Seto.

Along with the anniversary celebration, a new executive board of the foundation was also appointed. The board includes several well-known figures such as Helmy Yahya and Dewi Hughes, the TV host known for her work with children, with Kak Seto serving as chairman.

To promote creativity in schools, the new board will open a creativity family center, which will provide training for teachers and other professionals, said Seto. The center is expected to open sometime this year.

The foundation was established in 1980 with the mission of urging and inspiring the government and society to delve into their creativity. Since then, it has published several books, the latest being Bermain dan Kreativitas (Playing and Creativity). It developed the first Children's Creativity Workshop in Indonesia in 1985, which is now known as the Bobo Workshop.