The Irony of Violence in the Educational Environment
Students' character education needs to be strengthened to minimize the occurrence of violence in the educational environment.
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Acts of violence that still occur in educational environments, even leading to fatalities, are a challenge for the Merdeka Belajar program as an education system that is being developed.
The reason is, the Merdeka Curriculum which focuses on developing soft skills and student character wants to create a profile of Indonesian students who, apart from being competent and characterful, also behave in accordance with Pancasila values, namely religious, social, independent, patriotism, togetherness. , democracy, and justice.
Abuse by students cadets seniors against junior cadets at the College of Maritime Affairs (STIP) Cilincing, North Jakarta, which resulted in death on Friday, May 3 2024, was a "slap" to the face of education amidst the still warm celebration of National Education Day.
This tragedy adds to the long dark record of violence in educational institutions which are supposed to be safe places to study.
The Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI) has received 3,877 reports of complaints throughout the year 2023, including 329 cases of reported violence complaints within education institutions.
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The highest complaints relate to children who are victims of bullying, sexual violence, physical/psychological violence, policies and fulfilling their rights to educational facilities. As of March 2024, KPAI had received 383 cases of child protection violation complaints and 34 percent of these cases occurred within educational units.
Meanwhile, there were at least 136 cases of violence in the educational environment recorded by the mass media throughout 2023 with a total of 134 perpetrators and 339 victims, 19 of whom died.
This data was collected by the Cahaya Guru Foundation on January 1-December 10 2023 through monitoring mass media reporting certified by the Press Council (Kompas.id, 16/12/2023).
The emerging numbers of violence are based on cases that have been reported or monitored in the media. Violence in the education sector is like the tip of an iceberg, with many cases still covered and neglected. The news of victims' deaths reveals that this practice of violence still exists.
Also read: Violence Leads to Death Recurred, STIP Evaluated
Power relations
The power relationship between seniors and juniors often still exists in official schools as a legacy from generation to generation.
Seniority arrogance is what can trigger acts of violence which may initially only intend to show "power" as a senior, but go beyond limits and cause unwanted tragedies. Violence has become a culture that is inherited.
According to Kompas's records, this is not the first time this incident of abuse of senior cadet students towards junior cadets at STIP has occurred.
Agung Bastian Gultom died on Monday (05/12/2008). The first-level cadet was beaten by his seniors during a traditional sword initiation event in the campus barracks, located in Room C3 Bawah Ring. As a result of the case, three cadets were expelled from the school, while seven other cadets who were suspected of beating nine other cadets were suspended.
Kompas's report on Friday (25/4/2014) reported that Dimas Dikita Handoko (20), a second year STIP student, died after being assaulted by his seniors in a boarding house in Semper Barat, Cilincing District, North Jakarta , just because it is considered disrespectful to seniors. In this case, the North Jakarta Police named seven senior level II cadets as suspects.
Three years later, on January 11 2017, a similar incident occurred again. Cases of abuse that led to death have repeated themselves. Amirullah Adityas Putra (18), a level I cadet and five of his friends were called by five senior level II cadets to one of the Dormitory Ring 4 rooms, in the STIP complex.
The five seniors took turns beating the six juniors. The victim died after being assaulted by his senior with blows to the stomach, chest and solar plexus.
In April 2015, it was also recorded that senior abuse of Daniel Roberto Tampubolon (22) was beaten and tortured by seven of his seniors. Five of the seven violent perpetrators were fired, while the other two were suspended for one year.
Several recurring incidents at STIP Jakarta serve as an "alarm" that violence in educational institutions still exists. Not only physical violence, but sexual and psychological violence are also still a specter. The existence of power relations makes victims powerless to fight back, even to the point where they are afraid to speak up.
Also read: Death of STIP Cadet Students, Needs Serious Handling of Violence in Schools
Strengthening character education
Strict measures and evaluations of parenting and learning patterns have been taken by STIP, including putting up signs that are displayed on one of the walls of the male dormitory and in many corners of the building that read "Remember! This School Will Be Closed If Violence Occurs" or "Perpetrators of Violence/Assault Will Be Expelled from STIP".
Moreover, there is also a memorial statue or memorial with black and white paint that was built to commemorate the case of fatal assault that happened to Agung Bastian Gultom in 2008.
In 2019, a declaration against violence was also announced, which was a statement of rejection of all forms of violence within the STIP campus community. However, violence still persists.
The government through the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia (Kemendikbudristek) has also implemented Ministerial Regulation No. 46 of 2023 regarding Prevention and Handling of Violence in Educational Institutions (PPKSP).
The Minister of Education and Culture's Regulation on Prevention and Handling of Violence in Educational Units (PPKSP) is intended to strengthen the prevention and handling of violence in educational units by expanding the scope of targets to include students, educators, educational personnel, and members of the educational unit community. The policy is issued to ensure that the members of the educational unit are safe from various types of violence.
The front view of the Shipping Science Higher Education (STIP) in Cilincing, North Jakarta on Sunday (5/5/2024). A cadet, Putu Satria Ananta Rustika (19), died after being beaten by his senior at the school which is under the Ministry of Transportation.
Although some efforts and legal measures have been prepared to prevent acts of violence, individual behavior and parenting patterns within families ultimately also influence the actions of a person as character can direct the emergence of certain behaviors.
Therefore, improving the quality of education does not only prepare competent human resources, but also those who have good character.
Prioritizing character education has become a priority in the Merdeka Belajar program. In fact, at the beginning of this program in 2020, the national exam was replaced with minimum competency assessments (AKM) and character surveys.
Regarding character education, it has actually been a concern of the government since the first curriculum in 1947. The curriculum, known as the Lesson Plan 1947 (Leer Plan), prioritized character education among other things.
Several curricula also emphasize character education, including the 1964 Curriculum Renewal Curriculum which was implemented in 1968 with one of its aims being to shape true Pancasila human beings.
Then in 1994, with the 1984 Curriculum Refinement, the aim of the National Education System was to create people who had faith and were devoted to God Almighty and had noble character. The latest, the Merdeka Curriculum which emphasizes the development of soft skills and character.
Student character is one of the indicators in the education report card as a picture of the overall quality of Indonesian education.
In the two national assessments that have been conducted, namely in 2021 and 2022, the assessment results of student characters for all levels of education have shown improvement and are categorized as good. This means that the majority of students are already accustomed to and consistently apply the values of the Pancasila student profile.
Despite showing improvement, the Minister of Education, Culture, Research and Technology (Mendikbudristek) Nadiem Anwar Makarim stated that based on the results of the 2021 and 2022 national assessments or 2022 and 2023 education report cards, as many as 24.4 percent of students experienced various types of bullying. Apart from that, until now children are still vulnerable to becoming victims of physical, verbal, relational or online bullying (cyberbullying).
This achievement becomes an irony when the character that does not reflect the values of Pancasila with acts of violence that occur in the education environment still happen. Strengthening character education is urgently prioritized. (KOMPAS RESEARCH)
