Secretary General M. Guntur Hamzah opening the Final Round of the 2018 Constitutional Awards for outstanding civic education (PPKn) teachers, Monday (5/10) at the Pancasila and Constitution Education Center, Cisarua, Bogor, West Java. Photo by Humas MK/Ifa.

Secretary General M. Guntur Hamzah of the Constitutional Court opened the Final Round of the 2018 Constitutional Awards for outstanding civic education (PPKn) teachers at the Pancasila and Constitution Education Center, Cisarua, Bogor, West Java on Monday (5/10). "The Constitutional Court is very concerned to encourage PPKn teachers to be at the forefront of building the culture of Pancasila and the Constitution," Guntur said.

Guntur said that civic education (PPKn) teachers can help re-internalize, revitalize, and re-actualize Pancasila and Constitution values. He believes the teachers’ current understanding of Pancasila and the Constitution should be combined with that of the Constitutional Court.

He revealed that according to the Pancasila and Constitution Education Center, the Constitutional Court had produced 20,000 alumni of constitutionalism program. Nevertheless, members of the society still behave contrary to Pancasila and the Constitution. Guntur believes in the need to track alumni of the Pancasila and Constitution Education Center program in order to find out what they do after the program, in order to inspire other teachers.

Guntur reminded that in the past Indonesia has had systems, methods, and institutions in instilling Pancasila ideology, but they were unsuccessful and not directly proportional to what was expected. According to him, if it is left unchecked, what is initially a symptom of moral issue can turn into a disease.

The Hasanuddin University law professor added, to overcome the symptom educators must be concern for their surroundings. However, educators sometimes often face dilemmas in maintaining and improving students\' morality. According to him, educators sometimes enable students in order to maintain rapport with them, but when they try to be assertive, they get accused of violence.

Guntur said that education is indeed very influential in shaping the behavior of its citizens. He revealed, in many countries primary students are not burdened with complicated materials but instead is always taught good behavior.

The Final Round of the 2018 Constitutional Awards was attended by 36 PPKn teachers from various regions and levels—elementary school (SD), secondary school (SMP), and higher secondary school (SMA) under the Ministry of Culture, and Madrasah Ibtidaiyah, Madrasah Tsanawiyah, and Madrasah Aliyah and Religious Aliyah Madrasas under the Ministry of Religion. (Ilham/LA/Yuniar Widiastuti)