INDONESIA Scouting will no longer be mandatory, Jakarta is divided

It was introduced by the Dutch and refounded by Sukarno in 1961. Currently, as a mandatory extracurricular activity, it is the scout association with the largest number of members in the world. From now on it will only be voluntary, but each school will continue to be obliged to offer it.

Jakarta (/Agencies) – Scouting will no longer be a mandatory activity for students in Indonesia. The decision made a few days ago by the Minister of Education, Culture, Research and Technology, Nadiem Makarim, which eliminates participation in the Gerakan Pramuka – the Indonesian scout movement – as a mandatory extracurricular activity in school programs, has sparked a great debate in the whole country.

“All schools, up to the secondary level, will continue to be required to offer the scouting program as part of the curriculum,” explained Anindito Aditomo, a senior ministry official. “However, from now on participation in scout activities will be voluntary.” This is also related, he added, to law no. 12 of 2010, which “underlines the voluntary and apolitical nature of the scout movement.”

The National Council of Scouts (Kwarnas) criticized the move and asked Minister Nadiem Makarim to review the policy, noting the strategic importance of the movement in shaping the character of the nation and contributing to the goals of national education. “For example – said Secretary General Bachtiar Utomo – in the Ministry of Education and Culture, the Saka Widya Budaya Bakti focuses on practical education in fields such as art, tradition and cultural values. Likewise the Saka Bakti Husada of the Ministry of Health offers explorers knowledge in health-related areas, such as disease prevention, nutrition and healthy lifestyle.

Founded in the then East Indies by the Dutch in 1912, by 1961 the Sukarno government had transformed the Gerakan Pramuka into a postcolonial youth movement. Precisely because of its mandatory nature, the Indonesian scout movement is the largest in the world, with more than 17 million children and adolescents.