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.