Compass of Education
In fact, once the compass of education is misdirected, the national education vessel will go farther and farther away from its goal.
Finally, the draft of the National Education System Bill was released to the public by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology (Kemendikbudristek). Unfortunately, the public's criticism and input in relation to strategic and visionary fundamentals were not responded to.
One of the fundamental criticisms that has become public is related to the purpose and function of education. The purpose and function of education is the most important thing that must be observed because it will become the compass of education in the long term.
Regarding the purpose and function of education, what is contained in the January version of the Draft National Education System Law (RUU Sisdiknas), and the latest version, August 2022, remains unchanged. The absence of changes in the education bill from the January version to the August 2022 version regarding the objectives and functions of education shows the close-mindedness of the education ministry to ideas that develop in public.
In the official draft, it is very clear that the function of education will be reduced to the concept of the Pancasila student profile.
In fact, once the compass of education is misdirected, the national education vessel will go farther and farther away from its goal. In the official draft, it is very clear that the function of education will be reduced to the concept of the Pancasila student profile.
Moreover, the deepest philosophical values of Pancasila are narrowed down to technical matters, such as critical thinking, global diversity, independence and creativity; while the main values, such as a just and civilized humanity, social justice, deliberation and consensus, and nationalism, which are the source of unifying the nation, are sidelined.
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In Article 3 it is stated: "National education functions to develop the potential of students with the character of Pancasila so that they become human beings who have faith, fear God Almighty, have noble character, are independent, knowledgeable and think critically, have diversity, work together and are creative. "
This interpretation of the character of Pancasila is very dangerous because it can become a kind of monopoly over the values of Pancasila in education.
More than that, the values of Pancasila are not understood in its deepest and essential meaning, but are interpreted simply as technical competence and skills that are not directly related to the deepest value of implementation of Pancasila values, through the dimensions of the Pancasila student profile, such as being independent, knowledgeable, critical reasoning, diversity, mutual cooperation, and creativity.
Pancasila Reduction
This reduction of the deepest values of Pancasila to mere technical competences impoverishes the meaning of the philosophical values of Pancasila. The dimensions in the Pancasila student profile also impoverish the deepest implementation of Pancasila values which, as human moral values, are immovable, and are essentially values that must be fought for. The interpretation of Pancasila values on the dimensions of the Pancasila student profile is technical in nature and can obscure to a certain degree the deepest meaning of Pancasila values.
The obfuscating of Pancasila values occurs because the dimensions of understanding the Pancasila student profile, such as being independent, knowledgeable, critical, able to work together and being creative, are not moral values in the true sense. These are all instrumental values which are neutral in nature and therefore the fulfilment of these values will very much depend on the orientation of the underlying human values.
People can be independent, creative, critical, able to work together, but if this is not accompanied by an understanding of the deepest values, it will be easily distorted for purposes that are contrary to the values of Pancasila itself.
If this is not changed, Indonesian children, instead of understanding Pancasila, will be even more confused about the main content of Pancasila values.
Education should instil the values of Pancasila directly so that it can dive into the imagination and understanding of students. Interpreting the dimensions of the Pancasila student profile with only six dimensions is already a disharmony of the concept and imagination of Pancasila itself. If this is not changed, Indonesian children, instead of understanding Pancasila, will be even more confused about the main content of Pancasila values.
Another fatal error is the inclusion of the values of national unity and the dimension of nationalism as a sub-dimension of the dimensions of faith, piety and noble character, especially through state morality. Of course, the values of faith, piety, and noble character can support the values of nationalism.
However, incorporating the value of national unity and integrity, nationalism, as a sub-dimension of the dimensions of faith, piety, and noble character, which is often identified with the first precepts of Pancasila, is clearly a fatal mistake.
In the education context, nationalism, national unity and integrity must be the main values that are directly described in students, not by tracing from the dimensions of faith, piety, and noble character, in the sub-dimension of state morality. Such an approach will only become a kind of manipulation of the values of Pancasila, and hide the importance of nationalism behind the values of faith, piety and noble character.
Nationalism and love for the nation should stand alone, and stand above all groups, not from someone's faith or piety. That one's faith and piety can support the values of nationalism is clear. However, hiding the values of nationalism in the dimensions of faith, piety, and noble character is clearly a fatal mistake.
Wrong function
The omission of the value of nationalism in the dimensions of the Pancasila student profile shows that the concept of the Pancasila student profile does not consider the dimensions of Indonesian unity important. Even more fatal, the value of nationalism is included in the dimensions of faith,
piety, and noble character, in the sub-dimension of state morality. This is a misleading thought, and a fatal error in interpreting the values of nationalism that maintain the unity and integrity of the nation.
The national education system is one of the functions in the state administration system to achieve the goal of establishing the life of the nation and state. The function of the education system should be placed within this framework, namely the collective ideals of the nation, namely to support the achievement of the goal of state formation as stated in the Preamble to the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia.
In the Preamble to the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia, it is clearly stated that the purpose of the founding of the Indonesian state is "to form a Government of the State of Indonesia that protects the entire Indonesian nation and the entire homeland of Indonesia and to promote public welfare, educate the nation's life, and participate in achieving a world order based on freedom, lasting peace and social justice”.
The function of education should refer to the collective goals of the life of the nation and state as mandated in the Preamble.
Meanwhile, the purpose of national education should be to strengthen this function, namely to form Indonesian people who are able to protect the entire Indonesian nation and the entire homeland of Indonesia, who are committed to advancing general welfare, and intelligent Indonesian people. In addition, being able to be involved in the global arena so as to be able to achieve world order based on independence, eternal peace, and social justice.
Education aims to produce Indonesian people who love their nation, as well as being able to be involved in the global arena with their intelligence and commitment to independence, peace, and social justice. This should be the goal of every educational process.
Making the dimensions of the Pancasila student profile an educational function is a reduction and impoverishment of the meaning of the education system itself. Meanwhile, misunderstanding the goals of national education is like misdirecting the education goals where the educational boat should sail. Incorrectly directing the compass will have a fatal impact on the failure to achieve the ultimate goal of the founding of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia, namely toward a just and prosperous society.
The concept of the functions and objectives of national education contained in the National Education System Bill must be revised. This fatal mistake must not occur in the amendment of our National Education System Law.
Doni Koesoema
Doni Koesoema A,Education Observer and Lecturer at Multimedia Nusantara University
(This article was translated by Kurniawan Siswo)
