Yuli Tri Suwarni and Panca Nugraha, Bandung/Mataram – Students nationwide marked National Education Day on Monday with peaceful rallies demanding free education, better infrastructure and facilities, and educational budget transparency.
In Bandung, West Java, students from several local universities rallied in front of the governor's office at Gedung Sate on Jl. Diponegoro, demanding more money for education, while contract teachers staged a separate rally for better wages.
A spokesperson for the students, Andi Nuroni, questioned the West Java provincial administration's claim to have allocated 21.1 percent of its 2011 budget for education, saying that only 20 percent of the total educational allocation would go to improve the educational system or provide free education, while the remaining 80 percent would pay teacher salaries.
"This violates the Constitution since teacher salaries must not be included in the education budget. This accounts for why we still find many damaged schools, expensive educations and teachers of low quality everywhere," Andi said on the sidelines of the rally.
In Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara, dozens of students from a local teacher training student association staged a piece of political theater decrying the condition of the nation's educational system and its expensive fees.
Protest coordinator Wachid Yahya demanded that the government ensure its commitment to allot 20 percent of the national budget not include teacher salaries.
They also urged the government to improve education infrastructure and facilities and to provide financial support to economically disadvantaged students.
In Banyumas, Central Java, hundreds students from Jenderal Soedirman University (Unsoed) rallied at the regency administration building on Monday to demand a ban of the International School Pilot Project (RSBI) program, claiming it had become a business enterprise for schools.
"RSBI is a form of a capitalization of education that only makes parents miserable," Tofik, a protester, said.
In Jakarta, National Education Minister Muhammad Nuh called for the implementation of character-based education at all academic levels starting in the 2011/2012 academic year.
In his speech at National Education Day celebrations on Monday, Nuh cited three characteristics of character-based education: consciousness of existence as one of God's creatures, intellectual curiosity and pride in achievement. (rcf)
[Agus Maryono and Arya Dipa contributed to this story from Banyumas and Bandung.]