Talking about the National Education, we can’t leave the name of Suwardi Suryaningrat for he is really the father of Education in Indonesia. Most educated Indonesians are familiar with his name and nobody will Deny that he is worth remembering as one of the national heroes.
At the time the colonial government had a policy of education for Indonesia. Good schools were only for the Dutch children and some Indonesians who belonged to the aristocratic or socially respected families. If many Indonesians had been well educated, they would have got great courage to oppose the colonial government.
This condition influenced Suwardi is feelings. His hatred for the Dutch gave him spirit to open an educational institution for Indonesians of all stratum. This institution gave a wide chance to those who wanted to obtain education as high as they could. The Dutch only taught the common people to read and write, and know some arithmatics. Any activities related to nationalism were kept away.
Raden Mas Suwardi Suryaningrat or Ki Hajar Dewantara, his famous name was appointed the first Minister of Education immediately after the Indonesian independence was proclaimed. He had done so much to the education in Indonesia. As a minister he remained to devote his time for education. When he passed away on April 28, 1959, the Perguruan Taman Siswa he founded, had expanded throughout Indonesia. He was born on May 2, 1889 and to honour him the government determined his birthdate to be the National Education Day.
Suwardi who based his education upon Montesori’s and Tagore’s theories tried to arouse the feeling of freedom of Indonesian people and respect toward each other. His coeducational classes covered subjects which were not only for the students intelligence but also strengthened Nationalism.
Time and effort improved the system of education. Now schools have homogeneous classes. Students had great opportunity to choose their education according to their interest. Vocational subjects which are given diffrently at each level will add the students skills in the future. If they don’t continue their studies to universities, they can join a kind of vocational education which prepares them to start a career as soon as they finish their studies.
The length of studies is six years for elementary school or Sekolah Dasar, three years for junior high school or Sekolah Menengah Pertama and three yeras for senior high school or Sekolah Menengah Atas. The higher education varies from three years for the academy and four years for the universitas. So if a child starts to attend a school at the age of six, he will finish his studies at the age twenty two.
DEVI MIRANTI PERTIWI/11210879
