Suara Pembaruan, page 17
Director General of Teachers and Education Personnel (GTK) of the Ministry of Education and Culture (Kemdikbud), Sumarna Surapranata said that maintaining tolerance is a joint task of all parties. Especially for the educational environment, it has been regulated in the National Education System (Sisdiknas) Law Number 20/2003 Article 12 Paragraph 1a, on obtaining religious education in accordance with their faith and taught by educators from the same religion.
Pranata explained, referring to that article, a school with the majority of students from a certain religion cannot force minority students to pray in accordance with the majority’s religion. If that happens, then the school violates the Law.
Pranata said that obtaining religious studies in school is a student’s basic right. Schools should provide religion teachers according to the students’ religion. So if one student is in a majority school, the school must provide the religion teacher according to the religious teachings/faith of the student.
Pranata also added that specifically in state/public schools, if there is but one student of a minority religion and no teacher is provided then the child must leave the class during the religion lesson. The school should not force the child to follow the majority religion.
For teachers who are intolerant and do not implement the National Education System Law, Pranata said the government will impose warnings, verbal reprimands, and sanctions even up to dismissal. Because the school is the right place to teach tolerance, diversity, and Pancasila to ward off the entry of radicalism and terrorism.
He mentioned, as the party which handles teachers, the basic concept of tolerance has been incorporated or inserted in the modules in the basic concept of the character building program (PPK). In addition his party also conducts approaches up to sending teams if intolerance attitudes are found in schools.