Approaching the national Education Day on May 2, 2007, the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Indonesia (MKRI), in cooperation with the Department of National Education, gave awards to Civics Education teachers of elementary schools, junior high schools, and senior high schools throughout Indonesia.

According to the Secretary General of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Indonesia, Janedjri M. Gaffar, the 2007 Constitutional Awards are give as one of the Constitutional Court’s commitment for teachers of elementary schools, junior high schools, and senior high schools who have dedicated their life to education, particularly to civics education.

One of the programs of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Indonesia is improving constitutional awareness among citizens. It is deemed relevant to the efforts of the Civics Education teachers teaching the state philosophy of Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution. In appreciation of their efforts concerned, the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Indonesia gave the teachers the awards.

Janedjri is of the opinion that the teachers deserve to the respect and appreciation based on their work and commitment for the national development. The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Indonesia as the guardian of the 1945 Constitution needs to play an active role in motivating the Civics Education teachers to continuously disseminate the essence of the 1945 Constitution to their students. Through the teachers, the meaning of the 1945 Constitution can be instilled the student’s thought and behaviour which will directly or indirectly awaken their constitutional awareness as citizens.

The 1945 Constitution is not formulated to become a sacred and untouchable state document. In fact, this is a monumental work of the founders of this Republic providing guidelines regarding state administration and human rights. Through these teachers, particularly Civics Education teachers, students can understand the principles of state administration and protection of human rights. 

The 2007 Constitutional Award is expected to become a trigger for teachers in improving their performance. In addition, this Constitutional Award is expected to become a tradition in the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Indonesia as a form of attention of this institution in encouraging the development of constitutional awareness among citizens. Therefore, every citizen of this country may be aware of their rights and obligations as citizens and may understand the state administration system of the Republic of Indonesia. Accordingly, every citizen can identity any violation of his/her constitutional rights. 

Furthermore, Janedjri said that the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Indonesia realizes that teachers have played a very significant role in guarding the genuineness of the substance and implementation of the 1945 Constitution. Therefore, the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Indonesia invites the Department of National Education to cooperate in giving appreciation to the Civics Education teachers throughout Indonesia. “The teachers are entitled to receive the 2007 Constitutional Award. However, during the process several teachers are selected by the judges’ board established by the Department of National Education in order to determine who shall be entitled to fill the first, second, and third best positions for respective educational levels of elementary school, junior and senior high schools,” said Janedjri.

According to Janedjri, the award is aimed at motivating teachers in their dedication, in addition to the efforts of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Indonesia to develop a constitution-conscious culture for all Indonesian people.

Surprise

On the occasion for presenting the 2007 Constitutional Award held on last Friday (4/5), the Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Indonesia Prof. Dr. Jimly Asshiddiqie, S.H. said that the presentation of the award to the teachers is an important moment because it is a beginning of a highly noble activity. “This award has an important meaning considering that the Civics Education teachers as educators are the spearhead of the process of education with constitutional awareness for all citizens,” said Jimly.

Jimly also hopes that the current education process gives great responsibility to the teachers, will be able to lead the way the nation’s young generations to the development stages towards advancement. Moreover, the Indonesian nation shows great interest in the world of education. It is evident by the budget allocation for education in the Constitution. 

In the meantime, Nanik Pudjowati, one of the teachers receiving awards expressed her surprise by the attention given by the Constitutional Court to the teachers. “I am surprised and proud of the concern of the Constitutional Court for us as Civics Education teachers, because we rarely get this kind of attention,” said Nanik. According to this teacher who is doing her day-to-day job at the Public Junior High School 6, Semarang, the attention given by the Constitutional Court is an evidence that the Constitutional Court appreciates teachers’ performance and hard work. 

In line with Nanik, Nurhadi who also received an award for High Schools category, is of the opinion that this award is a positive appreciation for Civics Education teachers. In addition, according to this teacher who is from Papua, by this award, the Constitutional Court has taken a proper measure in disseminating constitutional comprehension because Civics Education teachers are the spearhead of constitutional awareness education. 

“It motivates me in teaching Civics Education subject as well as challenges me to continuously improve creativity in teaching this subject to my students,” Nurhadi added. He also expected that the attention given by the high state institution concerned motivates the teachers to realize a Civics Education subject which is no longer considered as a boring subject by the students.

The complete list of winners of the 2007 Constitutional Award is as follows: 

Colloquium on Constitutional Awareness

In addition to presenting awards to performing Civics Education teachers, at the same time the Constitutional Court in cooperation with the Department of National Education also held a colloquium on Constitutional Awareness Education for all Indonesian Civics Education teachers. The activity was opened by the Minister of National Education and attended by 250 Civics teachers throughout Indonesia.

The three-day colloquium aimed at improving the Civics Education teachers’ understanding of the 1945 Constitution and its amendments. In addition, this activity it is expected to provide information obtained directly from several sources for a correct understanding of the Constitution. The teachers who participated in this event are also hoped to share their understanding with their colleagues in their respective regions who will further disseminate it to their students. (tiur/ardli)