Education woes worsen since policy of ethical politics implemented

Jombang, NU Online
The education woes in Indonesia have been worsen since the coming of the Netherlands Indies implementing the policy of Ethical Politics in 1900s. At that time indigenous people had not yet been introduced with certificate and work-oriented school education systems.

The historian Agus Sunyoto made the remarks at a meeting taking up issues on pesantren (Islamic boarding school) cultures in Jombang East Java over the weekend.<>

Agus said the education paradigm introduced within the Ethical Politics was based primarily on positivism philosophy as evolved by Aguste Comte whose no such belief on truth beyond empirical facts.

He said indigenous people had tended to put aside the importance of divine and religious values as adopting the education systems. In turn, he added, there would be ideas of nihilism, communism, and liberalism rooted from the schooling systems.

"These school systems will then produce among others generation that is proud of having no willingness to pray. This is an apostasy," Agus said.

The leader of the Malang's Global Islamic boarding school was of view that the root of both communism and atheism was again from the school systems.

"So the truth is that both communism and atheism are raised by children from the school systems," he said.

Agus also stressed that pesantren had formerly been proud of their own educational systems. But during the New Order in 1970s pesantren circles or the followers of Nahdlatul Ulama, Indonesia's biggest Muslim organization, have been endorsed to study in formal schools on account of the assumption that school is the icon of modernity.

"This (assumption) is an absolutely big superstition and is very dangerous," he added. (yus)