Hardiknas: BEM SI to Stage Dark Education Protest Action

The All-Indonesia Student Executive Board (BEM SI) will hold a demonstration to commemorate National Education Day (Hardiknas) on 2 May 2026. The demonstration will take place in the area of the Arjuna Wijaya Horse Statue, Central Jakarta.

In a post on the Instagram account @bem_si, the demonstration carries the hashtag #GelapGulitaPendidikanIndonesia. BEM SI highlights the ongoing inequalities in education and policies that distance themselves from the people’s interests.

“Hardiknas is not just a ceremony. This is a moment of resistance, a moment to voice the truth,” states the caption of the Instagram post from @bem_si, as seen by Tempo on Saturday, 2 May 2026.

BEM SI demands nine points from the government. The nine demands are as follows:

1. Reform of education budget governance, separation of public education budgets from civil service budgets, and cessation of excessive commercialisation of education;

2. Urging central and regional governments to make education a substantive priority, not just a formality in budgeting;

3. Demanding equitable access to quality education up to 3T areas, remote regions, and vulnerable groups;

4. Urging improvements in teacher welfare and fair, transparent, and dignified resolution of honorary teacher status, as well as equitable distribution of teachers and reform of the teacher recruitment system;

5. Demanding rehabilitation of damaged schools and fulfilment of adequate educational facilities and infrastructure throughout Indonesia;

6. Urging consistent, data-based, and long-term oriented education policies;

7. Promoting character education that is real, contextual, and rooted in national values and local wisdom;

8. Demanding transparency and strict oversight of all education budget usage;

9. And urging revisions to the discussion of the National Education System Law (UU Sisdiknas) with involvement of civil society participation.