Human Rights Minister pushes for human rights to become compulsory school textbook

Human Rights Minister Natalius Pigai is pushing for human rights material to be taught specifically in the national education system through a separate guidebook, rather than merely being part of or inserted into other subjects.

Pigai said his ministry is currently communicating with the Education Ministry regarding the proposal.

He made the statement while inaugurating the Human Rights Study Centre at the Mimika College of Law (STIH Mimika) in Timika, Mimika Regency, Central Papua, on Tuesday.

According to Pigai, understanding of human rights needs to be delivered in a more structured way to students because human rights principles are attached to every human being from birth until death.

“The Education Minister only asked, ‘Mr Pigai, may we include a chapter in education?’ So chapter one on human rights, then later other chapters. But if we only allocate a chapter, I don’t want that. I am asking for a separate book as a compulsory book to be taught,” Pigai said.

Pigai said he is also proposing a special allocation for human rights material in the national education curriculum.

He said the portion could be placed within ethics and moral education content, although the idea still requires further discussion.

He stressed that the effort is a long-term agenda requiring policy adjustments, including if there are future changes to laws or the national curriculum.

“I am negotiating. But if, for example, at some point there is a change in the law or the national curriculum, I will try to include human rights as an official curriculum. That is the aspiration, all of it is an aspiration,” Pigai said.