Experts discuss human rights education

JAKARTA (JP): The inclusion of human rights in the national education curriculum should put emphasis on practical application rather than theory, experts said yesterday.

University of Diponegoro rector Muladi said the teaching of human rights should not merely be based on classroom aphorisms, but on core values which can be applied in everyday life.

"It is best for human rights education to focus on 'living human rights' and not center on concepts and theories, or intellectual content. The focus should be on what's called 'actual content'," said Muladi, who is a member of the National Commission on Human Rights.

Muladi was among the several speakers at a national symposium on Human Rights in the National Education Agenda which was organized by the Association of Indonesian Moslem Intellectuals (ICMI). Other speakers included Minister of Education and Culture Wardiman Djojonegoro and Yusril Ihza Mahendra of the School of Law of the University of Indonesia.

Muladi argued that the "core value" of human rights, such as respect, equality, justice, freedom. democracy, rights and obligations, must be disseminated, so students can fully appreciate and apply them.

"Academic advancement in this field must be adequately balanced with practical comprehension," he said.

He added that awareness of obligations to society is another important aspect of rights education.

He said such a curriculum should be applied fully and adjusted to all levels of education.

He said the material taught at the elementary level must differ from that presented at university level.

"At every level of education there would be a different color and a different dimension to the material taught," he said.

Minister Wardiman said there are two ways in which human rights could be taught. He cited the integrative and monolithic approaches .

The first approach incorporates or integrates human rights teaching into already existing and relevant subjects, while the latter would mean setting up a separate new course which deals specifically with the issue.

"The integrative approach is really more appropriate for the elementary and secondary level because human rights education is essentially the teaching of values," he said.

Wardiman explained that it is during the early stages of education that children are most susceptible to the transfer of values.

Academic Yusril Mahendra, while supporting the need for formal human rights education, suggested that military and government institutions should be prioritized.

His suggestion stemmed from the fact that allegations are frequently heard that the military is involved in human rights violations.

Muladi rejected Yusril's views, saying that approach would create a dichotomy.

"Everyone is a potential human rights violator. It wouldn't be right for us to blame a specific group because anyone can violate human rights," Muladi said. (mds)

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