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********** INDONESIA DELAYS CONTROVERSIAL EDUCATION BILL Teachers and Religious Officials Protest Mandating Religious Instruction by Sarah Page

Summary: DUBLIN, May 2, (Compass) — Politicians in Indonesia have postponed endorsing a controversial new education bill. Legislators hoped to endorse the bill today to mark celebrations of National Education Day. However, protests from teachers and religious officials around the country delayed the bill from passing into law. The National Education System Bill, drafted to replace an older version written in 1989, raised a storm of controversy. Article 13 stipulates that schools must provide religious education for all their students. A Christian school with 10 or more Muslim students, for example, must provide worship facilities and two hours of Islamic education per week for Muslim students. The same applies to Muslim or Hindu schools with 10 or more Christian students. On March 18, almost 3,000 Christian teachers and parents held a protest march through the streets of Jakarta under the banner “Concerned People for National Education,” prompting former President Abdurrahman “Gus Dur” Wahid to call on the government to review, or rescind, the controversial legislation.

Full Story: DUBLIN, May 2, (Compass) — Endorsement of Indonesia’s controversial new education bill was postponed on May 1. Politicians had hoped to endorse the bill on May 2 to mark celebrations of National Education Day. However protests from teachers and religious officials around the country have delayed the bill from passing into law.

Legislators drafted the new National Education System Bill to replace an older version written in 1989. Changes in the bill were thought necessary to reflect changes in the political and social climate of Indonesia.

However, the bill has raised a storm of controversy, particularly Article 13 which deals with religious education.

Under the article, all schools must provide religious education for every student. For example, a Christian school with 10 or more Muslim students must provide Islamic worship facilities and two hours of Islamic education per week for Muslim students. The same applies to Muslim or Hindu schools with 10 or more Christian students. However, only teachers qualified in the respective faith are permitted to teach these classes.

Many Christians believe the bill is a reaction against the large number of Muslim children attending Christian schools. Catholic and Protestant schools generally provide a higher standard of education than state schools, and as many as 65 percent of their students are Muslims.

Under the present system, Catholic schools require all students, including non-Catholics, to attend catechism classes. However, private Islamic schools also make it compulsory for non-Muslim students to attend Islamic lessons.

A key member of the Christian community, who asked not to be named, says the bill does not make sense. “If you want noodles, you go to a noodle shop. If you want steak, you go to a steak house. So why should Muslim parents, who voluntarily send their children to Christian schools, expect Muslim education at these schools?”

Issues such as these prompted religious leaders and teachers to call for a delay of the planned endorsement on May 2.

Christian teachers and parents have rallied under the banner of “Concerned People for National Education.” They held a press conference in early March with little response from the national media. On March 18, almost 3,000 Catholics and Protestants held a joint protest march through the streets of Jakarta.

Dozens of senior high school students staged a rally in Semarang, Central Java, on April 24. These students, from Muslim organizations such as the Indonesian Muslim Students Association and the Association of Nahdlatul Ulama Sons, clearly gave support to the bill.

The Central Java Friendship Forum of Muslims (FSUI) also voiced their support for the bill. “We support the bill, both the House and the National Education Ministry versions, especially Chapter V, Article 13 (1) on students,” said FSUI Chairman Sri Haryanto. Sri urged the House of Representatives to endorse the bill no later than May 2.

However, former President Abdurrahman “Gus Dur” Wahid called on the government to review, or drop, the controversial legislation. He feels the new bill will spark opposition between Muslim and non-Muslim groups.

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