Is the education bill in the best interest of students?

Is the education bill in the best interest of students?

Anita Lie, Doctor of Education, Curriculum Consultant, Surabaya

While the polemics and controversy over the section involving
required religious education at private schools in the new
education bill still linger, it is urgent that the government and
the House of Representatives be wise enough to withdraw the draft
and study the issues in order to produce a more appropriate
education bill. Our education and democracy are unquestionably
at stake if the House, or the special interest groups -- insist
on passing the bill based on the notion that the bill must
accommodate the aspirations of the majority of the people (Marwah
Daud, as quoted in Republika, April 4, 2003). Several of the
articles in the proposed bill are still problematic. One major
concern is the failure to recognize the limitations of the
government's authority or the need to encourage families and non-
governmental institutions to take part in the national education
system.

The education bill jeopardizes the partnership between the
government and private schools and the regional autonomy process.
The government has to admit that it is not capable of providing
schools for all school-age children in the nation. Therefore, the
role of private schools as the government's partners is very
crucial to ensure that every child in the country has the
opportunity to be educated in formal schools. Private schools
have exercised their freedom to maintain and develop their own
identity. Article 13 Clause 1(a) would restrict private schools
from exercising this freedom and impose on them the provision of
5 religious courses (Islam, Christianity, Catholicism, Hinduism,
and Buddhism). Article 66 Clause 2 of the education bill also
imposes religious education on international schools. Should
this bill be passed, international schools also will be required
to provide religious education to Indonesian citizens in their
schools.

Former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid has argued that
the state should not interfering in religious matters (The
Jakarta Post, March 20, 2003). While Indonesia may at the moment
differ from many other countries where the separation between
state and religion is more clear-cut (as Gus Dur is often
regarded as an avant garde leader), the proponents of the
education bill seems to ignore the fact that education in the
truest sense of the word does not take place only in formal
schooling. The Indonesian education leader Ki Hadjar Dewantoro
mentions that the education of the young should take place in
three domains: Schools, families and societies.

That every child has the right to receive religious education
is undisputable. Parents have the right to ensure that their
children receive religious education according to their faith and
beliefs. By the same token, parents also have the right not to
use their right or to use their right in whatever domain they
choose. The much-debated education bill was apparently made based
on the assumption that our parents are not intelligent or wise
enough to know how to use their right. Article 8 also belittles
parents' capabilities to educate their children. Every normal
parent is aware of his or her responsibility to educate the child
and does not need the state to regulate that.

By proposing and insisting on the education bill, the
proponents assume that families and societies are not capable of
providing proper education to their children. Such an assumption
will lead to the over-dominance of the state in taking over
families' and religious institutions' rights and
responsibilities. The interference of the state in this regard
will be a setback from all efforts toward civil society.

In addition, the education bill contradicts the current plans
and decisions set by the Ministry of Education. Educators all
over the country have recently welcomed the decisions on final
state examinations; the final state exam for elementary school
level was no longer necessary while at the junior and senior high
school levels, only three subjects (math, Indonesian, and
English) are covered in the final state exams (Minister of
National Education Decree No. 017/U/2003). This decision is in
line with the push toward more regional autonomy and school-based
management. The new education bill proposed by the working
committee in Commission VI of the House of Representatives would
be a regression of the direction our national education system is
supposed to take, as it would hijack schools' rights and
responsibilities in curriculum design, assessment and
administration.

Instead of meddling with citizens' rights and private schools'
roles -- which could easily be regarded as political maneuvering
conducted for the sake of the 2004 General Election, the House
and government should work hard and be wise enough to set up
brilliant goals and standards for the 21st century and propose
strategies to achieve those goals and standards. The education
bill fails to address such important issues. The preoccupation
with religion courses in formal schools has diminished the
purpose of our national education as set out in the Preamble of
the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia, i.e., to
nourish the intelligence of the people for a better national
life. The education bill fails to address other dimensions in the
education process such as knowledge, skills and values.

At the moment, Indonesian students are left behind by their
counterparts in many other countries in terms of their
competence and capabilities in math, reading and science. The low
quality of the learning processes and outcomes within our
national education system is such a major concern that parents
with more means choose to send their children to "national plus
schools," international schools or overseas schools. Yet, only
the privileged few have this opportunity while the majority of
our children have to settle for the questionable quality or
regular public schools because the politicians at the national
level are not capable of making education paramount in the
nation-building process and free of any political interests.