Indonesia needs more than additional budget to improve education system
Hopes for better education for all soared after the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) endorsed the fourth batch of amendments to the 1945 Constitution, including the article on education, early this month.
Limited budget has been one of the main constraints in providing quality education for all. The Assembly's decision to insert a clause on the education budget in Article 31 on education was therefore a welcomed breakthrough. The amended article stipulates that the state allocates a minimum of 20 percent of the total state and regional budgets to meet the costs of national education.
Despite this encouraging development, the phenomenal budget allocation has been met with mixed reactions, with skeptics casting doubts on whether the new legislation can produce a better education system.
The amendment to the article on education itself was not without debate. Legislators who were against the clause said that it could easily be used by rival politicians to oust the president in case he or she failed to provide the funds due to unfavorable economic conditions.
This is, of course, regretful. Instead of giving a more reasonable explanation, the legislators simply made excuses, an indication that they did not perceive education as an important matter.
The education sector, which is often sidelined by other issues, fared better in 1985 when the government allocated up to 17.6 percent of the state budget for educational purposes. It should also be noted that the high budget allocation was made possible by Indonesia's impressive economic performance.
Noted sociologist Ignas Kleden said, however, that budget was not the main problem.
"I think budget is not the main problem. The question is whether or not we have applied the correct philosophy for our education," Ignas added during an interview on Tuesday.
He said the education system during the New Order era had completely ignored the need to nurture the individual, to create autonomous, independent, and accountable human beings.
"Without an education that can develop the maturity of each individual, we will only have mobs who can easily be used for any purpose."
Education, therefore, must also create individuals with a moral conscience and social awareness, he said.
Actually Indonesia had a strong concept of education when pioneer educationist Ki Hadjar Dewantara introduced an informal school, Taman Siswa, in 1922.
According to Ki Hadjar, education must be aimed at creating humans, either as individuals or members of their community, who have dignity and morality.
The concept was adopted in Law No. 2/1989 on National Education which states, "The national education system aims at creating a nation of intellectuals and developing the Indonesian people as whole beings, people with faith in one God, who have morality, knowledge, skills, physical and mental health, a strong personality and a sense of responsibility toward the society and nation."
Although the concept is quite clear, Indonesia's education system has failed to produce individuals as set out in the goals of the law on national education.
What's wrong with our education system?
Educator Arief Rachman said the criteria set for good performance at school was one of the reasons behind the failure in the education system. Almost all schools identified brilliant students as those with high grades.
"We overlooked morality."
Arief recently evaluated the current situation in the national education and revealed four weaknesses in the system.
"The four weaknesses are the low academic standards, the low quality of teachers, librarians and staff, unequal access to education and the low quality of educational infrastructure," he pointed out.
According to Arief, better education can be realized through improvement in the quality of teachers. Teachers should encourage students to engage in discussion and debate instead of memorizing the right answers.
In other words, Ignas added, achievement in education could be accomplished through open discussion between teachers and students.
He suggested that the nation learn from the New Order experience, when education only produced "yes persons" instead of critical individuals.
"The authoritarian New Order government preferred obedient people to critical individuals," he added.
Article 31 of the amended 1945 Constitution:
1. Every citizen has the right to education.
2. Every citizen shall have basic education and the government shall finance it.
3. The government sets up a national education system to improve faith, morality, and the intellectual capacity of the nation as regulated further by law.
4. The state shall give priority to the education budget by allocating a minimum of 20 percent of the total state and regional budgets to meet the costs of national education.
5. The government develops science and technology by promoting religious values and national unity for the advancement of civilization and prosperity of mankind.