Jakarta – Many may find the results of a recent research study conducted by the Culture and Education Ministry about intolerance among students concerning.
Some 8.5 percent of student respondents said they wanted to see changes to the country's founding principles as a secular nation to make Indonesia an Islamic-based country, while 7.2 percent said of respondents said they supported the Islamic State (IS) group.
Nur Berlian Venus Ali, a researcher at the ministry's Education and Culture Policy Research Center, said the research was conducted to follow up on a previous study conducted in 2015, which showed that many state senior high school students contained perceptions and notions that deviated from the country's traditional nationalistic values.
On Wednesday, Culture and Education Minister Muhadjir Effendy said the ministry would force schools to conduct activities centered on developing solidarity and tolerance in an effort to curb intolerance at schools.
According to the minister, the intolerant behavior of students was due to the influence of outside schools. "I have also asked education agency heads [in regions] to scrutinize all activities involving third parties," Muhadjir said as quoted by kompas.com. (hol/bbs)