EENET asia Newsletters : Symposium issue April 2006 Contents

Towards Inclusive Education in Indonesia

Moch. Sholeh Y.A. Ichrom

A part of a butterfly’s head stuck outside its cocoon. Though it was only a small part, its beauty was nevertheless clear for all to see. This may serve as a metaphor for inclusive education in Indonesia up to this point.

When inclusive education was introduced it was perceived by many as a cocoon consuming the leaves, fruits and the tree of special education. The idea of inclusion therefore faced considerable scepticism and resistance; some argued that;

• It was merely another word for integrated education, a concept that has long been implemented in Indonesia;
• It would take away jobs from special education teachers;
• The education policies and regulations would make it impossible;
• The transition from special or segregated education to inclusion was too difficult;
• It can only be applied in the country where there are merely a small number of students in each class which makes it possible to provide individualized learning and not in Indonesia since the class sizes are big;
• It can only be applied in the country where sufficient professional teachers are available; Indonesia is still struggling with the quality of its teachers’, and that;
• Inclusion depends on high teachers salaries (which it’s contrary to the situation in Indonesia).

However, after awareness meetings, workshops and discussions many realised that;

• Inclusion and integration are conceptually different;
• The concept of inclusion is closely related to many of the values already found in the Indonesian society;
• More teachers with knowledge and experience related to children with special educational needs will be needed in future - Support teachers and children in inclusive schools;
• The transition from segregation to inclusion might be difficult, but that it is the only way we can reach the goal of education for all;
• Inclusion can be successful in schools with large classes;
• Our teachers can become good teacher; but we need to trust and empower them;
• All of us would like for teachers to get higher salaries, but we must not forget that some of the best teachers are found in low income village schools.

The national motto of Indonesia is ‘Bhineka Tunggal Ika’ or ‘Unity in Diversity’ reflecting century-old inclusive values. Religious teaching, tolerance and respect for individual differences have been part of the Indonesian character for hundreds of years. These teachings include the concepts and gives practical guidance to learning mathematics, natural and social science, languages, vocational training and physical education. The abundance of cultures and the rich natural environment are other elements helping many of our colleagues in Indonesia to embrace the concept of inclusive and child friendly education.

Concrete results of the dissemination process have started to appear. The government has issued laws, regulations, made policies, plans and programmes and has even made funding available to support the implementation of inclusive education in Indonesia. The change of status from a sub-directorate for special education to a directorate with responsibility for inclusion and special education has helped accelerate the dissemination process of inclusion. Nine resource centres supporting inclusive and child-friendly practices in schools have been appointed. Even if they have different capabilities to implement the programmes they are still vital instruments in the process towards inclusion. On the university level, a graduate programme on inclusion and special needs education at UPI Bandung was launched in 2003. It is currently the most popular of all the graduate programmes at that university.

Plans for other innovative programmes on inclusion are currently being developed at University of Sebelas Maret in Solo and Padang State University in West Sumatra. The multi level training programmes for education officials, lecturers, teachers and education activists at provincial and district levels are expected to become major vehicles for change towards inclusion throughout the nine target provinces. The training focused on empowerment of key stakeholders, encourage independence and strengthen the link between inclusion and the conditions in the local communities.

The Indonesian Declaration ’Towards Inclusive Education’ or the so called Bandung Declaration clearly stated the moral commitment of the participants to implement inclusive education. The comprehensively adapted version of ‘Embracing Diversity - Toolkit for Creating, Learning-Friendly Environments’ was launching by the Indonesian President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on National Education Day 2nd May 2005 and has been distributed to hundreds of schools throughout Indonesia and East-Timor.

In September 2005 more than 500 participants from 30 countries attended the International Symposium on Inclusion and the Removal of Barriers to Learning, Participation and Development in Bukittinggi and Payakumbuh, West-Sumatra. Indonesia was proud to host this landmark event. The Recommendations from the Symposium will further strengthen the development towards inclusion throughout the country.

Much has happened since the idea of inclusion was launched in 1999 but still just a small part of the butterfly is visible, its beauty can be seen, but its true splendour is yet to be revealed. It is now time for the butterfly to crawl out of its cocoon, reproduce more of its kind and fly throughout the country and beyond.

Moch. Sholeh Y.A. Ichrom can be contacted at: Universitas Sebelas Maret, Jl. Ir. Sutami 36A, Surakarta, Jawa Tengah; email: msyai@idp-europe.org

EENET asia Newsletters : Symposium issue April 2006 Contents