Expert proposes integrating cooperative education into national curriculum

Jakarta (ANTARA) - UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta Professor Euis Amalia has proposed that cooperative education be integrated into the national education curriculum from primary level through to higher education in order to strengthen the younger generation’s understanding of cooperative principles and practices. The proposal was delivered by Euis during a public hearing with House of Representatives Commission VI regarding input on the Cooperatives Bill in Jakarta on Tuesday. According to her, cooperative values have not yet been embedded in the national education system, necessitating steps to build an understanding of cooperatives from an early age. “This is important for instilling and providing an understanding of cooperatives from the outset if we truly want to make cooperatives the spirit or pillar of the national economy,” she said. Euis assessed that strengthening cooperative education is also vital to ensure the sustainability of the cooperative movement through a more structured regeneration of cooperative actors and drivers. Beyond the formal curriculum, she encouraged the development of school cooperatives and university student cooperatives as a means of direct practical learning about cooperatives. In her proposal, Euis called for an article regulating the integration of cooperative education within the Cooperatives Bill, including the joint preparation of guidelines and teaching modules by the ministries responsible for education and cooperatives. She also proposed that higher education institutions be encouraged to open study programmes, concentrations, or cooperative study centres that can function as research centres and incubation hubs for cooperative development. In addition to cooperative education, Euis also proposed strengthening literacy aspects and human resource development for cooperatives. According to her, one of the main challenges facing cooperatives today is the quality of human resources among administrators, managers, and supervisors, which does not yet fully meet the required competency standards, particularly in savings and loan cooperatives. She proposed the establishment of a special cooperative competency certification body referring to the National Professional Certification Agency (BNSP) and the Indonesian National Work Competency Standards (SKKNI) for the cooperative sector. Euis added that such certification should become a prerequisite in the licensing process and performance assessment of cooperatives, especially for administrators, managers, and supervisors of savings and loan cooperatives, including sharia savings, loan, and financing cooperatives. The government and the House of Representatives are currently deliberating the Bill on the Fourth Amendment to Law Number 25 of 1992 concerning Cooperatives. Minister of Cooperatives Ferry Juliantono stated that Law Number 25 of 1992, which currently serves as the legal basis for cooperatives, is considered no longer fully relevant to the developments of the times and current economic dynamics. “This is a major momentum for the nation to comprehensively reorganise cooperative life in Indonesia,” Ferry said during a working meeting with House Commission VI in Jakarta on Wednesday (17/6).