PAN: The Missing Of The Madrasah Phrase In The National Education System Bill Is A Step Back To New Order

Member of the DPR F-PAN Guspardi Gaus/DOK ANTARA

JAKARTA - Member of the House of Representatives from the National Mandate Party (PAN) faction, Guspardi Gaus, criticized the leaking of a draft revision of the National Education System Law (Sisdiknas) which eliminated the phrase 'madrasah' as part of Indonesian education. He considered that not including the word 'madrasa' in the bill violates the constitutional mandate, even as returning to the New Order era.

"The disappearance of the phrase 'madrasa' in the draft National Education Education Bill is also a step backwards by returning to the New Order era. Because during the reform era, corrections were made to include madrasas as part of formal education from the national education unit, and have become one breath with public schools through the Law The National Education System Number 2 of 2003 is still valid today," said Guspardi to reporters, Wednesday, March 30. "In fact, the current draft Law on National Education System does not contain the phrase 'madrasa'. This of course invites polemics and needs to be questioned and jointly monitored," he continued.

The member of the Legislative Body of the DPR emphasized that the word 'madrasa' should be strengthened, not abolished. Because, madrasas have long been an education system in Indonesia.

The disappearance of the word 'madrasa' in the draft National Education System Bill, said Guspardi, seems to ignore the role of madrasas in the national education system. The PAN politician is worried that this issue will create new problems.

"So there is no reason to delete and separate madrasas in the National Education System Bill, because madrasas are an inseparable part of the national education system," said the Chair of the ICMI Mosque and Islamic Boarding School Empowerment Council.

The West Sumatra electoral district legislator also asked Mendikbudristek Nadiem Makariem and his staff to involve various elements, such as NU and Muhammadiyah and other educational entities, in drafting the National Education System Bill. "The involvement of these various elements is to ensure that the drafting of the National Education System Bill is discussed more comprehensively and thoroughly and according to the times," said Guspardi. Previously, Minister of Education, Culture, Research and Technology Nadiem Makarim and Minister of Religion Yaqut Cholil Qoumas ensured that the phrase madrasah remained in the revision of the National Education System Law.

This was stated in their joint statement regarding the revised draft of the National Education System Law on Tuesday, March 29.

"From the start there was no desire or plan to remove madrasa schools or other forms of education units from the national education system. A thing that doesn't make sense and has never crossed our minds," said Nadiem, quoted in the official Instagram account of the Mendikbudristek @nadiemmakarim Wednesday, March 30.

Nadiem said both schools and madrasas remained substantially part of the educational pathways regulated in the body of the revision of the National Education System Law. However, he said, specific names such as SD and MI, SMP and MTS or SMA, SMK, and MA will be explained in the explanation section.

"The goal is that the naming of the form of an education unit is not tied at the level of the law so that it is much more flexible and dynamic," he said.

Nadiem said that until now the ministry he leads has always cooperated and coordinated closely with the Ministry of Religion regarding various efforts and programs to improve the quality of education in Indonesia. Namely by promoting the spirit of mutual cooperation and inclusiveness.

"We have also brought this spirit into the revision process of the National Education System Bill or the National Education System Bill," he said.