Coordinating Minister For Human Development And Culture Urges Schools Not To Be Used For Campaigns

Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Muhadjir Effendy. (ANTARA/Asep Firmansyah)

Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture (Menko PMK) Muhadjir Effendy appealed not to use schools and madrasas as campaign locations for practical political contestation.

"Therefore, so as not to get involved with all kinds of things. I urge schools and madrasas not to campaign," said Muhadjir as quoted by ANTARA, Thursday, August 24.

Muhadjir's statement was in response to the decision of the Constitutional Court (MK) which allowed election participants to campaign in government and educational facilities (schools and campuses).

Muhadjir said that currently the condition of learning and learning in schools has not fully recovered after being hit by the COVID-19 pandemic for years. The learning process is still experiencing Learning Loss or a reduced academic knowledge and skills.

To catch up with the Learning Losster, Muhadjir asked schools and madrasas to focus on stabilizing the teaching and learning process rather than becoming a place for the election campaign.

"This school's condition has not yet recovered, so learning activities at the school have not yet recovered. So learning loss must be pursued by schools, where yesterday the learning process experienced anomalies, must be redeemed now," he said.

In addition, the campaign in schools will not be effective because the number of novice voters is less than if they are in college.

"If I think there is a good side to the campus, the important thing is to really maintain conduciveness. And they, right, have (can) choose, then also have a high level of awareness," he said.

Acting Director General of Higher Education, Research and Technology of the Ministry of Education and Culture Nizam reminded universities to wait to keep their distance and neutral against various political activities so as to create a sense of security for campus residents.

He stated that learning and teaching activities on campus should not be disturbed by political activities, especially if there are more political activities than academic activities.

The Ministry of Education and Culture asks campuses not to be affiliated or to be directly related to all political activities so that the campus's goal as an intellectual place can still be achieved.

Currently, his party is still studying and finding ways to keep higher education able to maintain integrity and neutrality as expected by the community.