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.