Govt will press ahead with education bill: VP
Govt will press ahead with education bill: VP
Ridwan Max Sijabat, The Jakarta Post, Palu, Central Sulawesi
Vice President Hamzah Haz says the government has no plans to
amend the controversial bill on the national education system,
arguing that the draft was in line with the newly amended
Constitution's spirit of improving the intellectual capacity of
Indonesian people.
Hamzah, who is on a two-day visit to Central Sulawesi
province, including the former conflict area of Poso, said on
Tuesday that the government was confused as to why certain
quarters had rejected the bill.
"The government does not understand why many quarters oppose
the bill since there is nothing wrong with the draft," Hamzah
said before thousands of students from the Al Hairaat Muslim
education foundation, religious leaders and local officials in
Palu.
Thousands of teachers and students took to the streets of
Jakarta last week to voice their rejection of the draft, which,
according to them, mandates state intervention in religious life.
Experts have particularly pointed to Article 12, which
requires religion-based private schools to provide religious
education teachers for students of other religions.
"Requiring schools, including religion-based schools, to
recruit religion teachers and provide places of worship for their
students is based on the human right of all citizens to receive
religious education," Hamzah said.
The education bill, which was drafted by the House of
Representatives (DPR), is currently being deliberated by a House
committee.
If endorsed, all schools, be they Muslim or Christian, will be
required to recruit teachers of other religions and provide
prayer rooms for students of other religions to ensure they
receive religious education and can perform their religious
duties during school hours.
These new requirements will particularly affect Christian
schools, which are attended by many Muslim students.
Education experts and observers have questioned the draft,
arguing that religious education should be provided by parents,
families and religious institutes, rather than by educational
institutes.
Former president Abdurrahman Wahid has urged the government to
drop the bill as based on the Constitution the government and the
state have no authority to interfere in religious life.
"Through the Constitution, all elements of society have agreed
that Indonesia is not a religion-based state. Religion and the
state must be separated. The government has the obligation to
provide facilities so that all religious communities can practice
their own faiths and create harmony," he said last week.