Make Schools Students’ Second Home

KOMPAS/DIONISIUS REYNALDO TRIWIBOWO

Aktivitas belajar di SD Negeri Sebangau Jaya, Kecamatan Katingan Kuala, Kabupaten Katingan, Kalimantan Tengah, Senin (5/6).

JAKARTA, KOMPAS – Education system reform must involve schools nationwide to make them students’ second home. Schools must be a safe and fun space that can support children’s proper development and protect them from physical, psychological, verbal and social threats. The hope is that schools can create future generations of smart and well-mannered individuals.

“Schools must be inherently child-friendly. However, in reality we still find schools that cannot provide a sense of safety for each and every student,” University of Surabaya educational psychologist Anindito Aditomo told Kompas over the phone on Tuesday(27/6/2017).

As the new school year approaches, the government is communicating the importance of child-friendly schools. Before the Idul Fitri holiday, Education and Culture Minister Muhadjir Effendy encouraged regional governments to make schools students’ second home.

The lack of child-friendly policies at schools can manifest in the discrimination of students based on ethnicity, religious belief or the parents’ socioeconomic status. Abuse often faced by students includes jeering, neglect, intimidation and even physical violence, both from other students and from teachers.

Students’ orientation period, Muhadjir said, should not be about violence. “The students’ orientation activity should be overseen by the deputy principal of student affairs rather than by senior students. The content should comprise an introduction to the learning environment and building nationalism or love for the motherland,” Muhadjir said before the Idul Fitri holiday at an event in Jakarta on the Promulgation of Elementary and Secondary Education Regulations/Policies in Preparation of the 2017/2018 School Year.

The event, held by the Education and Culture Ministry’s Directorate General for Elementary and Secondary Education, was attended by hundreds of education agency heads from provinces and cities/regencies across Indonesia.

To make schools students’ second home, Muhadjir said, a zoning system would be applied in the enrollment of new students this year. The aim was to have students go to schools near their respective homes. This was also done to equalize education service quality at all schools and avoid popular labeling of “favorite schools” and “non-favorite schools”.

Kompas/Wawan H Prabowo

Muhadjir Effendy

Character building

Character building (PPK) was to be strengthened in education, Muhadjir said, adding that this would be done under the authority of schools based on their respective preparedness. Education and Culture Ministry Regulation No. 23/2017 on School Days would be reinforced by a presidential regulation with a focus on PPK. “Schools must also strive to prevent the spread of radicalism, intolerance, narcotics, alcohol, pornography and violence on school grounds,” Muhadjir said.

A regulation on teachers’ workload, Muhadjir said, would enable teachers to focus more on educating students instead of merely teaching in front of a class. Principals are seen as school managers with the responsibility to ensure the progress of their respective schools with the help of school committees.

Smart Indonesia Movement chairwoman and child-friendly school campaigner Yanti Sriyulianti said that regulations supporting child-friendly schools and character-building education through the three-pronged educational partnership (family-school-community) should be constitutionally developed. The support of the Jokowi-Kalla administration to strengthen the 12-year compulsory education within the context of the child-friendly school movement is deemed necessary.

“The Education and Culture Ministry regulation regarding zone-based school enrollment is in line with our campaign to ensure safe routes for students on their way between their homes and their schools. Their families and the community should use this regulation to help meet the children’s rights and protect them. Slowly but surely, efforts to erase school favoritism will be implemented. The child-friendly school movement to support the implementation of high-quality and affordable education [helps with monitoring],” he said.

The ban on violence in students’ orientation period, Yanti said, reflected the ministry’s commitment to protect students and was in line with the current administration’s Nawacita vision. Seniority among students should be aimed at reinforcing friendship and peace-loving education since the early days of school, for instance by asking student councils (OSIS) to expand good practices, such as the smile, be polite and greet juniors (S3ASTers) campaign run by the KerLiP youth group at the SMPN 35 public junior high school in Bandung.

Practices of good behavior can also be found at the SMPN 8 public junior high school in Payakumbuh, West Sumatra. Every morning, the principal and teachers greet their students at the school gate. The aim is to make students feel respected and to develop trust between students and teachers.

“Students will neither enjoy school nor feel respected by their teachers if their teachers do not show it,” SMPN 8 Payakumbuh deputy principal Andi Waskito said.

Environment

Efforts to eradicate discrimination and violence at schools, Anindito said, should also be promoted in a school’s surrounding environment. This may include traffic management on streets around the school to ensure safety for students. Nearby stalls and shops should be urged not to sell cigarettes or unhealthy snacks.

“This is a holistic education [approach]. Science and character cannot be developed without the support of a safe and healthy environment that protects the freedom of a child to develop,” said Anindito, who is a founder of the Center for Education and Policy Studies, a non-profit organization that researches the implementation of education policies in the country.

(ELN/DNE)