NU Is Still Thinking About Nadiem's Invitation To Return To POP

Photo: Nu.or.id

JAKARTA - Chairman of the Ma'arif Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) Education Institute, Arifin Zunaidi, said that his party had accepted an apology from the Minister of Education and Culture (Mendikbud) Nadiem Makarim.

Nadiem apologized for the polemic of the participation of the Tanoto Foundation and the Putera Sampoerna Foundation in the list of Organizing Organizations Program (POP) at the Ministry of Education and Culture.

"An apology from a high-ranking official in our country is a rare event. He has admitted his mistake, apologized, will correct it and ask for guidance," Arifin said when confirmed, Wednesday, July 29.

The polemic made NU resign from the program. NU considered the membership criteria unclear and worried that there would be a conflict of interest in POP.

Even so, Arifin admitted that his party was still considering a request from Nadiem Makarim for NU to re-join POP partners.

"To evaluate and review POP recipients, it will take time. Is there enough time left until the end of the year to implement the program?", He said.

As is well known, POP was launched as part of the fourth episode of free learning policy on March 10, 2020. The program is designed to encourage the creation of driving schools by empowering the community through government support.

This is done by improving the quality of teachers and principals based on training models that can effectively improve the quality of the learning process and student learning outcomes.

Then, this POP polemic emerged when Commission X DPR RI Syaiful Huda (PKB) assessed that there were irregularities in a number of large companies such as the Putera Sampoerna Foundation and the Bhakti Tanoto Foundation to get the funds.

This question also motivated PGRI, Muhammadiyah, and LP Ma'arif NU to resign from the Movement Organization Program. Until finally, Nadiem apologized to Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), Muhammadiyah, and PGRI regarding this polemic.