Ignoring the real meaning of education

Ignoring the real meaning of education

Mochtar Buchori, Jakarta

An abhorrent event that took place in Kampar, Riau, not long
ago is still fresh in the minds of many Indonesians. It was an
event where within a time span of less than one month, teachers
and students in schools throughout the district, joined by civil
servants in the district, staged strikes and demonstrations
directed against the regent and his deputy.

The people of Kampar demanded that these two public
functionaries resign from their posts. These demonstrations
caused all educational activities and government services to come
to a complete standstill.

It was a case that embarrassed not only the regent of Kampar,
but the central government as well. Triggered by previous rows
between the regent and the Regional Legislative Council (the
DPRD), the latter was totally compassionate with the people's
demand.

It called a special session and after deliberating the issue,
members of the DPRD agreed to send a vote of no-confidence to the
regent and his deputy. That means that these two high-ranking
public officials were effectively dismissed by the very
institution that elected them to their posts.

The Ministry of Home Affairs in Jakarta disagreed with this
decision. It argued that there were legal procedures to be
followed before these two officials could be dismissed. This
caused anger and frustration among the people of Kampar, and they
returned to their demonstrations.

Only this time they threatened to boycott the general election
in Kampar if the minister of home affairs did not make a
definitive decision on the case before April 5, the day the
general election was to be held. This caused a political storm
and the minister of home affairs, under heavy public pressure,
dismissed the regent and his deputy.

To me, this entire event makes a mockery of our system of
governance and to our democracy. The noble ideas behind the words
"democracy", "justice" and "people's sovereignty" have been
ridiculously transformed into vulgar practices of
authoritarianism and suppression of people's aspirations

Have we learned anything from this case?

Apparently not! Now, in Jakarta, a very similar case is
happening. The local government in Jakarta decided to swap the
plot of land where the SMP 56 state junior high school stood on
Jl. Melawai with two plots of land in Jeruk Purut and Bintaro,
two locations that are quite a distance away from Jl. Melawai
Raya, which is a very strategic site in Jakarta. This deal was
made about two years ago between the Jakarta government and a
company owned by a business tycoon with important political
connections.

The "evacuation" of the school to the new locations, however,
did not proceed as smoothly as anticipated. For a multitude of
reasons parents objected to this deal. When a series of meetings
between the dissenting parties failed to reach an agreement, the
land dispute became a civil lawsuit with the South Jakarta
District Court. The verdict issued by the court favored the
Jakarta administration, and accordingly the school was ordered
vacated. The parents did not accept this verdict and they
submitted an appeal to the Jakarta High Court, which has yet to
rule on the matter.

Apparently impatient with the slow progress of the case, the
Jakarta government locked the gates of the school, forcing
students and their teachers to hold classes in the street inside
several tents provides by supporters. The exposure of this
development by activists drew the attention of the media. After
representatives of students, parents and other sympathizers sent
a delegation to the House Representatives, a number of
legislators went to visit the disputed site and two members
forced open the school's gate.

Understandably, this act caused anger on the part of the
Jakarta administration, especially the governor. What will happen
next? Will their be a political showdown between the Jakarta
administration and the people backed by House of Representatives?
I doubt it. More likely an "amiable solution" will be sought. In
a society with rampant corruption and bureaucratic malpractice,
"amiable solution" can mean anything. Many things can happen,
including bribery, blackmail or simple physical threats. I
sincerely hope I am wrong.

What attracts me most to these two cases is not their
dejecting disrespect for law and decency, or their significance
as affronts to the idea of social justice. To me these two cases
exhibit vividly and convincingly that the government and many
bureaucrats still do not understand what education is or means to
a country. They hold a myopic view of education, looking at it
primarily as a political commodity related only to one's present
interests, without ever trying to grasp the meaning of the
present-day situation in education for future generations.

They don't seem to understand that improving the educational
system is always a gradual process. It has never been, and will
never be, an instant process. If this view persists, and the next
governments design their policies and conduct their affairs on
the basis of this view, the dream of having a high-quality
educational system will forever remain just a dream.

It will never come true. And we will maintain and prolong our
status as a poor developing nation, unable to escape the grip of
poverty. James Wolfenson of the World Bank recently reminded us
what poverty means for the people locked in it. The picture he
paints is very gruesome indeed.

The second important lesson I draw from these two cases is the
lack of understanding among our high-ranking officials concerning
the nature, source and limit of power and respect. We all need
respect. And persons with power tend to assume that their
official social status constitutes the source of their power and
the respect others show toward them. They do not seem to pay heed
to Pascal's saying that, "The property of power is to protect,"
or to Justice Thurgood Marshall's dictum that "the only source of
power that we ... can tap is the respect of the people".

It seems that many of our leaders still have to understand
that to be endowed with formal power without being backed by the
people's respect is not quite a meaningful existence. Losing
power is painful. Losing respect is shameful. And losing both is
mortifying.

The writer is a veteran educator.