Jakarta – The government on Saturday launched the National Movement for Good Conduct, a program that aims to promote morality among school students.

The publication of 12 textbooks on morality for primary and secondary school students marked the launch of the movement.

Coordinating Minister for the People's Welfare Aburizal Bakrie said the movement was in line with the 2006 law on national education, which mandates the country's schools participate in the moral development of students.

"The government greatly appreciates the publication of the textbooks," Aburizal said.

He said the movement would promote moral values that are universally accepted.

The launch of the movement comes on the heels of the latest findings by the Corruption Eradication Commission, that corruption remains widespread in government institutions, including law enforcement agencies.

International corruption watchdogs view Indonesia as one of the most corrupt countries in the world.

The new morality movement was initiated by the Good Conduct Society and is supported by the National Education Ministry, the Religious Affairs Ministry and the Puri Cikeas Foundation.

Irsyad Sudiro, head of the society, said the movement was a result of a discussion with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono two years ago.

Secretary-general of the National Education Ministry Dodi Nandika said the government would gradually introduce moral education into the school curriculum as a principal subject.

"All this time, moral education has been regarded as a marginal subject. We want it to become a primary subject like, say, mathematics," Dodi said. Moral education will also be introduced to teachers, he said.

The ministry is currently reviewing the newly published textbooks before making them mandatory for schools. "When the books are ready to use, the government will buy the copyrights and allow the public to reproduce them," Dodi said. (dia)