MPR Deputy Speaker Highlights Importance of Implementing Ki Hajar Dewantara's Tri-Centre Education Concept

Wakil Ketua MPR RI Lestari Moerdijat (Rerie) has highlighted the importance of implementing Ki Hajar Dewantara’s Tri-Centre Education concept to strengthen the national education system. She emphasised that the ongoing discussion of the National Education System Bill (RUU Sisdiknas) must return to the great national philosophical ideas, particularly those initiated by the Father of Indonesian Education.

Speaking at the MPR’s Forum on National and State Actualisation themed ‘Reviving the Tri-Centre Education’ with the Sarinah Institute at the Parliament Complex in Senayan, Jakarta, on Thursday (25/6), Rerie noted that education discourse often gets trapped in nomenclature and administrative aspects, losing its philosophical essence. She stressed the need to elevate the issue to a deeper level, namely the soul of education itself.

This aligns with Ki Hajar Dewantara’s Tri-Centre Education concept, which emphasises synergy among three main environments in educating children: family, school, and community. According to Rerie, who is also a member of House Commission X, Ki Hajar Dewantara’s thinking is increasingly relevant in today’s educational dynamics. The Tri-Centre Education teaching reminds us that the responsibility for education does not rest solely on the shoulders of teachers and schools, but is a shared responsibility between family, school, and community.

Rerie highlighted that the education model cannot only focus on teaching methods, but must also consider how to create a supportive ecosystem. She criticised certain practices within the education system, including the misinterpretation of parental involvement. She reminded that parental involvement is not merely physical presence in every school activity, but a deep understanding of the substance of a child’s education. ‘This deep understanding is one of the important aspects of the family environment as the first and foremost centre of education,’ she said in a written statement on Thursday (25/6/2026).

Furthermore, Rerie noted the lack of deep thought regarding culture in the education system discussion process. She argued that culture, as a product of the mind from the teaching and learning process, must be an integral part of the education system. This is in line with Ki Hajar Dewantara’s concept, which places culture as one of the fundamental principles in education through Pancadharma.

The senior member of the NasDem Party’s High Council reminded that the implementation of a good national education system is key to welcoming Indonesia Emas 2045. In the context of the ongoing revision of the National Education System Law, Rerie stressed the importance of critical input that touches on philosophical aspects, not just technical administrative matters.

Director of the Sarinah Institute, Eva Kusuma Sundari, assessed that currently no one is managing the parenting aspect in the education process. She also emphasised the importance of instilling Pancasila values in building the character of the nation’s children. According to Eva, the internalisation of Pancasila values must be applicable within the family. Family education to instil applicable norms and values is crucial in protecting children from the threat of violence in society.

Education activist Indra Charismiadji argued that managing national education should learn from the operational model of online motorcycle taxis, where the pick-up point, drop-off point, and costs are clearly defined from the start. With relatively low PISA scores and the 2045 Long-Term Development Plan targeting a per capita income of US$30,000 per year, Indra stated that this target is impossible to achieve if the education sector is not immediately reformed. Quoting Ki Hajar Dewantara, he asserted that education is a life guide within an ecosystem centred on three realms: family, community, and school. ‘Unfortunately, our education has so far only been centred on schools,’ he said.

Executive Director of the Sukma Foundation, Ahmad Baedowi, opined that a good school must have and manage its School Budget (APBS) properly. ‘If the APBS plan is wrong, the education process fails, and that is what often happens in schools today,’ he said.