House Commission X states National Education System Bill requires schools to provide psychologists

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Deputy Chair of House Commission X, Kurniasih Mufidayati, stated that the National Education System Bill (RUU Sisdiknas) will require every school to provide guidance and counselling (BK) facilities or psychologist services. According to Kurniasih, this obligation to provide mental guidance aims to prevent cases that endanger students’ mental health, given the prevalence of issues such as bullying. “Every school should have BK, guidance counselling or a psychologist who can anticipate any decline in mental health,” Kurniasih said, quoted in Jakarta on Monday. She further explained that the proposal emerged after Commission X received an audience from the Indonesian Psychological Association. The association, Kurniasih said, requested that every school provide mental health facilities for students, teachers, and educational personnel. “Yesterday, we also received an audience from the Indonesian Psychological Association. They requested that it be included in this bill so that every school provides guidance counselling facilities or psychologists, thus providing a place for the mental health of students, even teachers, educators, and educational personnel to seek consultation assistance,” she explained. She also emphasised that character education and religious education must be strengthened as mandatory curricula at all levels of education. “Character education is absolutely mandatory today. With cases in several universities, and also perhaps in primary schools, it all starts from character education and religious education that must be strengthened,” she said. She hopes that with the inclusion of protection clauses and character education obligations in the RUU Sisdiknas, cases of violence, bullying, and mental health issues in educational environments can be minimised. “We are honestly very concerned and saddened, and we hope for concrete solutions from all these incidents. There should be no more violence because these children must grow and develop into the next generation for the nation,” she said.