Pancasila and Indonesian language education should be carried out simultaneously to respond to the needs and demands of the times, as well as strengthen our identity as a nation.
By
KOMPAS EDITOR
·3 minutes read
Kompas/AGUS SUSANTO
Indonesia\'s national symbol, Garuda Pancasila in the Kebhinekaan Park at the East Jakarta floodgate in Duren Sawit, East Jakarta, Saturday (07/07/2018). The introduction and reaffirmation of the values of Pancasila and diversity are now displayed in public spaces.
Calls for Pancasila education to become a compulsory subject have increased as Government Regulation No. 57 of 2021 on national education fails to include it.
Teaching Pancasila only as part of the wider subject of civic education (PPKn), as is currently the case based on the 2013 curriculum, means Pancasila values are not fully imparted to students (Kompas, 21/4/2021). The substance of Pancasila values has not been maximally mainstreamed in PPKn. Pancasila education must become a compulsory subject in its own right at all levels of education. Educational institutions are expected to have the responsibility to strengthen Pancasila values for the formation of students’ character amid a weakening understanding of Pancasila and a high degree of intolerance for social diversity.
This need is increasingly relevant to the concept of the Pancasila student profile, which is outlined in the draft for the Indonesian Education Roadmap 2020-2035. The Pancasila values must be confirmed as a special and compulsory subject to create students of faith who are devoted to God the Almighty and of noble character, who comprehend global diversity, favor mutual cooperation and are capable of independent and critical reasoning and creative thinking.
The Education and Culture Ministry’s move to revise Government Regulation (PP) No. 57/2021 on the curriculum is expected to be the first step to emphasize subjects that must be thought to students, according to the needs and demands of the times. Law No. 20 of 2003 on the national education system does not mention Pancasila education and Indonesian language as compulsory subjects.
A number of residents participated in the Bhinneka Tunggal Ika parade which took place from the Arjuna Wijaya Horse Statue in Jalan Medan Merdeka Selatan, Jakarta to the Tugu Tani, Menteng, on Saturday (19/11/2016). This peaceful action campaigned for the importance of caring for Pancasila, the 1945 Constitution, the Republic of Indonesia, and Indonesia\'s diversity.
The rise of cases of intolerance in society, ranging from regulations obliging or prohibiting the wearing of school uniforms with religious attributes, up to increasingly sharp polarization due to differences in political views or beliefs, shows that there is a need to strengthen national values. Likewise, globalization has eroded the cultural values of the nation, including the Indonesian language.
The correct way for Pancasila education to respond to that need certainly needs to be formulated in further detail. Returning to Pancasila moral education is not necessarily appropriate for the demands of the times. Moreover, that moral education has come to be seen as a form of indoctrination with the values the New Order regime wanted to establish.
Providing examples and exemplars, not memorization, is more relevant to disseminating Pancasila values among students today. This is not just a matter of compiling a curriculum or Pancasila subject substance, but teachers can convey these values well to students. Given so many intolerant practices by teachers, the teachers themselves must first be nurtured with Pancasila values.
With regard to Indonesian as a subject, the language should also be conveyed as part of the national identity. The Indonesian language is not only a unifying tool for various ethnic groups, but also a national identity, a symbol of national pride. Pancasila and Indonesian language education should be carried out simultaneously to respond to the needs and demands of the times, as well as strengthen our identity as a nation.
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