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.