Education vs. capitalism

Education vs. capitalism

From Tempo

The battle between educational idealism and capitalism continues, involving such issues as the exchange of a school building in Jakarta, the construction of an agribusiness center on the campus of Bogor Institute of Agriculture and the planned town square near the campus of Brawijaya University, Malang.

The question is: Does idealism in the world of education have to clash with capitalism? Professing a need to secure a return on capital invested within the shortest possible time, capitalism has entered education.

Consequently, there are instances of school principals obliging students to buy particular textbooks to benefit from publishers' bonuses, and universities opening special enrollment channels in order to impose high student admission fees.

Meanwhile, various appeals for the pursuit of educational ideals have been ignored, though education is the right of all citizens, with or without access to capital. At present, education is expected to produce a return on capital for whoever wishes to invest in the field.

The school of medicine, for instance, charges high entrance fees and yet lots of new students are still interested to enter. These students, too, expect a return on investment within a shorter time than their peers in the school of agriculture can achieve.

A very tough struggle is needed to change this paradigm because the majority of Indonesians are under the influence of capitalism. Even the government, with power under its control, appears to be helpless and yields to the capitalist climate, making the excuse of fund limitation.

Trying to make peace with capitalism may be the proper approach before further compromising with it, in view of objective realities today. The next important thing to consider is what steps should be taken for a postcapitalist society, because this situation should not be endless.

M. FASHIHULLISAN Malang, East Java