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Schools told to impose law on information
National Education Minister Muhammad Nuh has urged schools, public colleges and universities in Indonesia to implement the freedom of information law, but an observer points out the government also has reservations
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ational Education Minister Muhammad Nuh has urged schools, public colleges and universities in Indonesia to implement the freedom of information law, but an observer points out the government also has reservations.
“Schools and universities must be open to the public regarding basic information people may wish to know,” Nuh said in Malang recently. But he did not elaborate on what the basic information was.
“The information may be better uploaded on their websites, so if anyone wants information, just type in the website address of school or college,” he said. However his statement that openness should not be without “clothes” was deemed by an observer as the government’s over-caution on the policy.
“I assume the minister has not read the freedom of information law. What does he mean by basic information?” Zia Ul Haq, a coordinator of the working committee of Malang Corruption Watch (MCW), said, adding the minister’s reservation statement would instead deter people from seeking information.
After a two-year suspension, the 2008 Freedom of Information Law took effect at the end of April. The law requires all state institutions, political parties, NGOs and mass organizations to make their information transparent to the public.
The law guarantees all citizens have access to information from those public institutions as part of the policy to create good governance and improve public participation in policy making. The law stipulates that any public institution intentionally hampering access to public information will be punished with a maximum fine of Rp 5 million (US$ 500) or up to one year in jail.
MCW disagreed with the use of websites as a means to deliver public information, given that not all parents or guardians of students were familiar with the Internet. Zia said it would still need to hold dialogue between the schools’ authorities and parents to ensure a smooth transformation of information between both parties.
“If all the information is conveyed through their official sites or websites, then I think the minister’s sensitivity to public openness lacks,” said Zia. He cited one case in which a student failed to enroll into a senior high school in Malang. The school initially refused to hand out the test result, demanded by the parents until MCW intervened in the case. “The test result marks show she should have qualified. That indicates the practice of trading seats in schools is still rampant,” he said.
