Image Yourself Caring For Education, Gibran Is Considered Playing Political Dramaturgy

JAKARTA UNJ sociologist, Rakhmat Hidayat assessed that Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka is playing a political dramaturgy by imaging himself as a figure who cares and has great attention to the world of education in Indonesia.

"So, he is playing politics on the front stage which seems to care about the world of education, because on the back stage he has an image as a person who has a GPA of 2.3 and doesn't like reading books," he said, Sunday, November 17, 2024.

According to him, what Gibran did was in accordance with the sociological concept of Erving Goffman which puts forward the theory that humans often display different or even contradictory figures when interacting in public spaces.

"Well, Gibran is showing the front stage. The front stage is full of camouflage, dipoles there and here. He feels concerned about education because he has a bad image of education problems," he added.

In addition, Gibran also runs imaging politics by opening a complaint service for the Vice President's report. In fact, said Rakhmat, such channels are not necessary because there are already state institutions that take care of public complaints according to their respective duties.

He argues that the steps taken by Gibran are based on electoral interests which are considered to be investments for Joko Widodo's eldest son in 2029. "This political drama or front stage is usually related to electoral projections for the upcoming elections or presidential elections," Rakhmat added.

Previously, in his remarks at the Education Evaluation Coordination Meeting some time ago, Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka suggested that coding materials, artificial intelligence (AI) and programming be included in the elementary and secondary school curriculum.

In addition, Gibran also revealed that he had asked that the acceptance of new students (PPDB) for the zoning system to the application of the Independent Learning curriculum be evaluated by sending a letter to the former Minister of Education Nadiem Makarim on July 11, 2024.