Planned regional autonomy lacks ruling on education, says expert
Planned regional autonomy lacks ruling on education, says expert
JAKARTA (JP): Education experts have raised concerns over the
lack of ruling in education ahead of next year's planned regional
autonomy.
A professor at the Indonesian University of Education, Fuad
Abdul Hamied, said on Saturday, "It remains unclear which issues
should be handled by local administrators and which should be
handled by the central government."
Addressing a one-day seminar on national education held by the
Esti Bhakti Foundation here, Fuad said that the lack of rulings
"could create chaos".
Draft regulations to implement laws on regional autonomy and
fiscal balance are still being prepared.
He added the problem lies in a contradiction between regional
autonomy and the 1989 law on education, which still stresses a
highly centralized education system.
Fuad said the central government should only set basic
standards and rules for the parties providing education and
monitor practices, while technical implementation should be left
to society.
"The economic crisis has also been a blessing in disguise for
the government," Fuad said. He said the crisis led to the
government admitting its wrong paradigm of relations between the
government and society in education affairs.
Regional autonomy should provide space for community
initiative and participation in education. In the past, "the
people lacked a sense of belonging to national education," he
said.
Education and Management Development Foundation administrator,
J. Riberu, said that regional education boards should be formed,
which would have full authority on education affairs. He also
suggested the regional boards determine each region's curriculum.
"There should be a diverse curriculum for every region ... in
accordance with the region's needs and conditions," Riberu said.
He said the board should comprise regional representatives,
such as from the local government, informal leaders and religious
leaders, educators and school administrators.
Another speaker, Karlina Leksono, who teaches philosophy at
the University of Indonesia, said the current centralized system
resulted in uniformed opinions and reproduction of the regime's
ideology among students.
Former rector of Muhammadiyah University, Mochtar Buchori,
reminded the forum that decentralization also meant that
education was not limited to schools.
"All countries which have succeeded in education have good
informal education systems," Mochtar said, citing, among others,
Malaysia and Singapore.
The experts said decentralization should not be done
drastically.
"There should be a systematical and serious effort to help
regions to prepare themselves," Fuad said.
Fuad said the current centralized education system had created
"the regions' impotency and made them always wait for
instructions from the central government." (08)