Muhammadiyah halts five-day week trial at its schools

Muhammadiyah halts five-day week trial at its schools

YOGYAKARTA (JP): Muhammadiyah, an influential Moslem
organization, announced yesterday that it has ordered all its
schools to stop trial runs of the five-day school week.

The announcement came only one day after the government said
that it was prepared to back down on the proposal if it proves
unpopular.

Muhammadiyah chairman Amin Rais told reporters yesterday that
the concept has created unrest among parents, teachers and the
general public.

The concept is fraught with religious, social and political
sensitivity, he said.

The first victims of the concept were the millions of children
who were no longer able to attend afternoon religious schools
because the concept crams the studying hours previously spread
over six days into five, and means children stay longer at
schools, he said.

These children and youths will no longer have the benefit of
religious values taught to them every day for at least two hours.

"The five day school week will systematically and for certain
kill off the afternoon schools," Amin said.

He said he questioned the intention of Minister of Education
and Culture Wardiman Djojonegoro in going ahead with the trial
operation of the five-day week scheme, knowing that many children
attend afternoon religious schools.

"If the concept is adopted, it will only create a young and
secular generation of people," he said.

The five-day concept, intended originally to allow children
spend more time with their parents, has met unexpected opposition
from Moslem leaders.

Originally, the proponents saw the main problem as chiefly
technical in that many school buildings are now operating double
shifts and that the longer school hours mean that they have to
rearrange the way they share the school buildings.

The United Development Party and Golkar have also urged the
government to exercise caution in enforcing the concept given the
strong reactions from Moslem leaders.

The five-day school week has been tried at a number of
selected schools since September and the Ministry of Education
and Culture will make an evaluation after six months and a ruling
in February. Government officials however said that each school
can decide whether or not to try the scheme.

The scheme is introduced at the same time as the government is
phasing in the five-day work week for civil servants. The trial
run is moving smoothly.

MUI

In view of the protests aired by Moslem leaders, Minister
Wardiman on Tuesday met with leaders of the Indonesian Ulema
Council (MUI) to assure that the government would back down on
the proposal if it is found to be unworkable.

Wardiman said the whole point of the tryouts now being done at
some schools in Indonesia is to determine the feasibility of the
scheme. "If the shortened school week proves ineffective, then it
simply doesn't need to be continued."

MUI said it opposes the plan on the grounds that the shortened
week -- and the prolonged school hours -- threaten the existence
of Moslem religious schools (madrasah diniyah) across the
country, which usually hold classes in the afternoons after
children finish their regular school day.

MUI chairman Hasan Basri said he expressed "deep concern" over
the possible impact of the five-day school week towards the
religious schools.

Wardiman said he believed there was an "information gap" about
the issue which caused public apprehension.

"You have to distinguish between tryouts and a ratified
government decree. Tryouts are meant to assess the feasibility of
a proposed policy and have nothing to do with the certainty of
its implementation," he said.

He said the ministry, although aware of the many technical and
non-technical obstructions the new system may face, considers the
tryouts worth carrying out.

Wardiman assured that the government would see to it that
Moslem religious schools, which he acknowledged were needed by
the society, were not driven out by the new system.

Hasan Basri said MUI understands the government's position but
nevertheless asked Wardiman to be "wise and just" in implementing
results of the tryout's assessment.(R. Fadjri/pwn)