Reflections on Education Day

KOMPAS/NINA SUSILO

Menteri Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan Muhadjir Effendy

Every May 2, in reference to the birth of Ki Hadjar Dewantara, we commemorate National Education Day. The national day was determined through Presidential Decree (Keppres) Number 316/1959 on

Dec. 16, 1959. Its annual commemoration provides space for all citizens of the nation to reflect on the essence and collective endeavor of improving the intellectual life of the nation.

Ki Hadjar Dewantara’s remark, "Everyone is a teacher; every home is a school", is an important message for all citizens of the nation to be proactive in the education process. The statement can also be interpreted as urging every citizen of the nation to be present as a teacher-minded educator. Moreover, Ki Hadjar has provided a very popular ethical footing, Ing ngarsa sung tulada, ing madya mangun karsa, tut wuri handayani, which means that anyone coming forward as an educator must provide a good example.

When standing in the middle, he must create good ideas and initiatives. Afterward, the educator still has to give constructive support and direction.

The exemplary role of public figures and elites

Ki Hadjar\'s educational ethic is important amid the dynamics of life of the nation today. The exemplary role of public figures and elites of the nation as representations of human educators, nevertheless, are an important element for efforts to improve the intellectual life of the nation.

Developing the intellectual life of the nation is not only a mandate but also a vision of the fathers of the nation, who enshrined it in the fourth paragraph of the Opening of the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia.

Consequently, not only is every citizen of the nation called to be smart, but the pattern of their interaction is correlated with the strengthening of integrity and unity. Therefore, the education process is not solely related to improving intellectual intelligence, but also the emotional, social and spiritual maturity that strengthens the national character. The government\'s efforts to advance national education are carried out in the framework of educating the nation\'s life. Good and directed education has an impact on the quality of human resources. That process is certainly not limited to learning in classrooms but involves in a proactive way all stakeholders, from families and communities to the business world and industry.

Law Number 20/2003 on the national education system states that the aim of national education is to develop the potential of students to become human beings who believe in and fear God Almighty, have a noble character, are healthy, knowledgeable, capable, creative and independent and are democratic and responsible citizens of the nation. This goal necessitates human resources of comprehensive literacy intelligence in the moral frame of the Indonesian nation, which is religious and democratic.

Human resources

Education policy is closely related to national development. The government has been carrying out intensive infrastructure development, the benefits of which are increasingly felt as a unifying belt of the nation, reinforcing interconnectivity and driving economic processes that are increasingly effective and efficient. Along with that, the focus of future development will lead to the development of human resources. This can be immediately understood based on the consideration that the benefits of infrastructure will be more useful as human resources improve.

Today, nations all over the world are faced with the rapid advancement of information technology. We have entered the era of Industry 4.0, which is marked by the operation of new digital devices that so powerfully combine the internet of thing with artificial intelligence, advanced robotics and big data analytics. President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo pays much attention to this development. The Fourth Industrial Revolution calls for reliable human resources capable of creating new opportunities, even amid the threat of disruption, as many types of human work are outsourced to machines.

Besides strengthening character education to enable students to always display noble character, courtesy, responsibility and empan papan (knowing how to place oneself), the education process is also directed at strengthening skills that are in line with the needs of the world of business and industry.

The revitalization of vocational education, for example, aims to produce all of those traits. Of course, this is part of a more comprehensive policy that also includes aspects from the improvement of teachers to the completion of the needed infrastructure.

We have to admit that the process of administering our education still faces a number of challenges that attract public attention. Those challenges range from aspects connected to teachers and other educational staff to problems pertaining to students, as highlighted by some cases that have gone viral in social media. In essence, the problems are quite complex. All of them require an appropriate policy response from the government, as well as active participation of all stakeholders.

The Constitution mandates public spending on education amounting to 20 percent of the national budget. In practice, however, the budget is divided across various ministries and institutions. Moreover, along with the implementation of broad regional autonomy, many education funds are channeled through regional governments via the mechanism of the general allocation funds (DAU) and special allocation funds (DAK). Therefore, local governments are expected to play increasingly a proactive role.

The proactivity of all parties in advancing education brings us back to the above message of Ki Hadjar Dewantara: "Everyone is a teacher; every home is a school". Efforts to advance education for the presence of quality human resources certainly are not solely dependent on the central government but also on the proactive nature of regional governments and all other stakeholders, especially business and industry. Let us advance our education to advance our nation. Happy National Education Day!

Muhadjir Effendy, Education and Culture Minister of the Republic of Indonesia