Rules on liberal education

Darmaningtyas ,  Jakarta   |  Sat, 09/06/2008 11:30 AM  |  Opinion

Education is a human right everywhere in the world, including in Indonesia -- based on the Preface of the 1945 Constitution.

Indeed, education is an empowering tool for the country is mentioned in the Constitution.

For more than 50 years, up until the end of the New Order regime, however, this right has not been fully acknowledged.

This situation would change if article 31 of the Constitution were amended; (1) Education is the right for every citizen; (2) Every citizen is obligated to enroll in primary education and the government should pay for it; (3) The government must plan and provide one national education system that empowers faith, intelligence and goodwill in an attempt to educate the country through the laws; and (4) The country allocates at least 20 percent of its budget toward education.

The amendments indeed recognize education priorities more fully.

Furthermore, Indonesia ratified the International Convention on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights in 2005, underlining education as a human right.

Empirically, education plays a huge role in a country's development. Only a country providing good education for its citizens can reach the heights of knowledge, social welfare as well as economic prosperity. Conversely, ignoring education means backwardness for a country.

Ironically, Indonesia that formally acknowledges education as a human right and is indeed a developed country, has empirically ignored its education provision.

Participation levels in primary education are not yet 100 percent, senior levels are less than 70 percent, and higher education levels are only 14 percent.

While the New Order targeted 25 percent in higher education levels by 2010 (just a couple of years left), the current SBY-JK government issued policies aiming for liberal education.

The consequence of a liberal education system is that education will not be a human right but a commodity. The one gets educated is the one paying.

Education liberation is started by Government Regulation No 61/1999 that transforms public higher education providers as a public company.

The subsequent regulations (No. 152, 153, 154, and 155 of 2000) regulate the privatization of University of Indonesia (UI), Gadjah Mada University (UGM), Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB) and Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), altering their status into a public owned institution. This movement is followed by other universities. Public universities become very expensive and are affordable only by the haves.

These include North Sumatra University (USU) in Medan, Airlangga University (UNAIR) in Surabaya, and the Indonesian Education University (UPI) in Bandung. The universities are privatized under IMF pressure arguing that Indonesia should cut down its education subsidy to pay for its foreign debt.

The liberation policy is regulated under Law No 20/2003 on the National Education System. The new Education Law deploys liberal education by providing opportunity for foreign investment in Indonesian education and relinquishing funding responsibility to the public.

The Law also regulates formal education management in an education company with its own regulation (Article 53). Based on the article, the government is currently compiling a draft on the institution. Substantially, the draft law is a form of liberal education.

If approved as a law, the government will have a strong legal reason to give over its financing responsibility to private sector or market mechanism. For those still thinking correctly the draft should be refused. We do not need it because the current educational management has already had strong legal foundation with the law. What will happen with the National Education Law if the draft on Education Company is approved?

There have been many regulations dealing with education liberation.

First are Presidential Regulations No 76 and 77 of 2007 that implement Law on Foreign Investment. It says that education is an open sector for foreign investment owning up to 49 percent of the shares.

Second is Government Regulation No 48/2008 on Financing Education. The regulation suggests releasing government's responsibility on financing education to public or foreign investment.

The later regulation will be a strong legal base for the government stating that education is also public (citizen) responsibility and encouraging schools to attract more money. Chapter V on Education Fund Source, particularly under article 51 section 4c, says: Financial source of an education item implemented by the government can come from participants' retribution including the parents without inflicting any existing regulation.

The content obviously works against the long-standing efforts to eradicate unnecessary retributions at school. Schools are protected by the regulation and public's stance is weakening. Therefore, before the Regulation is gazetted on July 4, 2008, public should immediately request a judicial review before the Supreme Court and ask for a revision.

Besides those legal documents there is also another draft of Government Regulation on Education Management and Provision. This draft besides strengthening the regulation on Financing Education supports the law draft on Education Institution because more than ten articles in the regulation refer to the law. This is unacceptable because the Department of National Education makes a reference to an informal legal document.

Consequently, not only that education is more expensive by becoming a commodity, but the government also violates the Constitution. Indonesia will be far behind other countries because of lack of educated people. If you also find this situation unacceptable please join a movement to refuse regulations on liberal education. Together we can make it happen.

The writer is an advisor of CBE (Center for the Betterment of Education) in Jakarta. He can be reached at darmaningtyas@yahoo.com

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