Transformation of Indonesian education: 1945-1995

By Mochtar Buchori

This is the first of two articles examining the transformation of the education system from 1945 to 1995.

JAKARTA (JP): Looking back at our educational system in 1945, it is hard to believe that that system was the embryo of our current, very complex system of formal education.

We now have a system comprising three large sub-systems: the sekolah umum or general education, the pondok pesantren (traditional Koranic school), and the madrasah, or "modernized Koranic" school system.

What did we have back in 1945?

Just one very small sub-system of general education. There were only five senior high schools throughout Indonesia (Jakarta, Bandung, Semarang, Yogyakarta, and Surabaya), one junior high school in each karesidenan (the now defunct administrative area, directly below the provincial administration and above the kabupaten, or district administration), and one elementary school in each kecamatan sub-district area.

In addition, there were five teacher training schools for elementary school teachers (Jatinegara, Bandung, Yogyakarta, Surakarta, and Blitar), and one teacher training school for high school (in Jakarta).

The traditional pondok pesantren was already there for quite a long time, but it was never recognized officially as part of the education system in the country. And the madrasah system, as we understand it now, was not yet in existence. This particular system began to develop only after 1950.

This tiny system had to undergo a grueling experience during the physical revolution of 1945-49. The educational system was part and parcel of the political struggle to defend the new republic. When the central government had to evacuate to Yogyakarta in 1946, all the colleges at that time, and some high schools, had to do the same.

The Jakarta College of Medicine and the Bandung college of Technology had to evacuate to Yogyakarta. The senior high school in Surabaya had to evacuate to Malang, and the one in Semarang had to evacuate to Salatiga. Those schools which opted to stay within the Dutch occupied territory had to operate without the assistance of the Indonesian government.

They had to proclaim themselves as Republican schools, and had to survive by whatever support they could get from sympathizers of the Republic. The main thing for these schools was that the young generation receive Indonesian education with Indonesian as the medium of instruction, and republican curriculum as the educational program.

The schools in the Republican territory had to carry out a struggle which was at least as hard as the one shouldered by republican schools within the Dutch-occupied territory. The economy of the country was in shambles at the time, and no one could live from his or her salary alone.

Teachers had to dig into their savings and sell their jewelry and other valuables to support their daily lives. And when the Dutch military launched its first and second offensives (1947 and 1949) the schools in the cities had to live as republican schools without support from the any government, and the ones in the villages outside the cities had to lead a mobile existence.

When the Dutch patrols were too close to a village, everyone in the village, including the schools, had to evacuate to safer sites. When the Dutch patrols retreated to the cities, they came back to their village. It was in such a situation that teachers within the Republican territory had to operate.

In spite of all these emergency conditions the daily operations in the schools went on basically undisturbed. School buildings had to be operated in three shifts -- morning, afternoon and evenings -- to accommodate school students who were evacuated from the Dutch-occupied territories. Teachers performed their duties regularly and pupils tried to learn as much as possible in spite of their irregular attendance.

It should be noted that many high school and college students at that time were also active in the Student Army (TRIP, TP, TGP, and others). In critical times they all had to go to the front lines and fight. When the situation became a bit calmer, they went back to their classrooms to resume their studies.

In spite of all the hardships, there was an atmosphere of professionalism within the system. Many teachers at the senior high school were college students at that time and did not have the proper qualifications. Yet students studied attentively and dutifully under these non-qualified teachers. The will to learn was unbelievably high among students. One of the biggest achievements in the field of education during this turbulent period was the establishment of Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta.

It was "assembled" by academic elements which used to operate the Medical College in Jakarta and the Technological College in Bandung who evacuated to Yogyakarta. These two groups of academicians were reinforced by academicians formerly associated with the College for Law in Jakarta, the College for Agriculture in Bogor, and the College for Letters in Jakarta. These three colleges were closed during the Japanese occupation.

The establishment of Gadjah Mada University was followed by the establishment of Universitas Islam Indonesia (Indonesian Islamic University), sponsored by intellectuals with a strong leaning toward Islamic political and cultural orientation.

It was believed that the founding of this Islamic university was another reflection of the political situation during the political movement for independence, which had always rested on two political movements: the nationalism-oriented wing, and the Islam-oriented wing.

This kind of situation lasted until December, 1949, when finally the sovereignty of the Indonesian government was officially recognized by the Dutch with the exception of West Irian.

From the early 1950s steps were taken to rehabilitate the educational system. School buildings were rebuilt or renovated, textbooks were either revised or republished and distributed, and school equipment was refurbished. The educational bureaucracy was revived and teacher welfare was significantly improved. This did not last long, however, due to the deteriorating condition of the country's economy.

The continuous fragmentation of political parties that marked the era of "liberal democracy" (1950 to 1958) made it impossible for any cabinet to last long enough and restore the foundations of the country's economy. It was due to the professional spirit within the educational system that this severe political rivalry within the society did not affect the daily operations within the educational system.

The Ministers of Education and Culture did come and go during this period, but life within the educational system went on smoothly, undisturbed by the political turmoil that went on within political circles. Below the ministerial level no appointment was made on the basis of political consideration.

The positions of secretary-generals, director generals, inspector generals down to lower echelons functions were occupied by persons who were appointed on the basis of their professional merit, not on the basis of their political affiliations. This situation made it possible for the entire educational system to function and behave in a professional way.

During this period efforts to elevate the academic quality of the system were pursued tirelessly. A special agency was founded in Bandung to act as a center for distant learning operations to increase the academic quality of elementary school teachers throughout the country. High school teachers and college lecturers were sent abroad for advanced study.

Foreign agencies like UNESCO, the Ford Foundation, and the Rockefeller Foundation were invited to help modernize colleges and other academic bodies. The result was a steady improvement of certain academic institutions which later on would become centers of academic vitality.

It was also during this period that private schools began to flourish. Government schools were not able to accommodate the demand for both elementary and secondary education. In every city private schools sprung up, sponsored by various types of organizations, ranging from religious organizations to loose organizations of groups of teachers who saw the opportunity of establishing their own schools.

Madrasah began to take root within society. Two reasons were responsible for the growth of madrasah during this period: the shortage of educational facilities and a desire for modern education based on Islamic orientation.

The madrasah that came into existence during this period were either founded by the Ministry of Religious Affairs, or privately owned, but operating under the auspices of the Ministry. This situation changed abruptly in 1959, when the late President Sukarno decided to change the political system of the country from "liberal democracy" to "guided democracy".

This political system lasted until 1965, when its end was marked by the abortive coup carried out by elements within the Armed Forces sympathizing with the Indonesian Communist Party.

During this period political forces succeeded in penetrating the educational system. Student organizations and teacher unions were split into two camps: those sympathizing with, and those against, the left-wing movements.

Provincial governments demanded the establishment of their own universities. The policy of sending university students and university lecturers to western countries was replaced by a new policy of sending students and lecturers to the East-bloc countries of Russia, Hungary, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, etc.

The overall result of this political shift was the drastic decline in the academic quality of the educational system. Academic standards were lowered to meet political demands, curricula were altered to accommodate political needs of the ruling groups, and political indoctrination was required for all university lecturers.

This indoctrination was conducted through the notorious MANIPOL-USDEK courses, in which participants were indoctrinated to accept ideas contained in the speeches of the late President Soekarno, starting from his Manifesto Politik, a speech he delivered on Aug. 17, 1959, to his other speeches about the return to the 1945 Constitution (Undang-Undang Dasar 1945, the U within the USDEK acronym), Sosialisme Indonesia (the S element), and the Demokrasi Ekonomi (the DEK element).