Constitutional Justice Daniel Yusmic P. Foekh speaking at the Education National Seminar by the Association of Private Universities and Colleges (BMPS) Jakarta, Friday (1/20/2022). Photo by MKRI/M. Nur.
Friday, January 20, 2023 | 07:35 WIB
JAKARTA (MKRI) — Education is one of the state goals and a constitutional right guaranteed by the 1945 Constitution. Therefore, as a guardian of the citizens’ constitutional rights to education, the Constitutional Court (MK) has adjudicated various cases related to education and handed down decisions such as No. 58/PUU-VIII/2010 on the judicial review of Law No. 20 of 2003 on the National Education System.
In his presentation on “The Constitutional Court’s Role in Protecting Constitutional Rights in Education,” Constitutional Justice Daniel Yusmic P. Foekh stated that in its legal considerations the Court considered that, according Article 31 paragraph (2) of the 1945 Constitution, every citizen is obligated to attend basic education and the Government is obligated to finance it. However, the Constitution does not stipulate the Government’s obligation to finance other levels of education. Nevertheless, that does not mean that the Government has absolutely no responsibility to finance education because it actually plays a role in educating the life of the nation.
So, the Court declared the word ‘can’ in Article 55 paragraph (4) of Law No. 20 of 2003, if linked to Article 31 paragraph (2) of the 1945 Constitution, resulting in the financing for any community-based or implemented basic education by other parties than the Government to not be mandatory for the central and/or regional government. This means the Court believed the word ‘can’ in said article was contrary to the 1945 Constitution if community-based educational institutions said article includes basic education.
“And [in] the verdict, [the Court] granted the petition in part and declared the word ‘can’ in Article 55 paragraph (4) of the National Education System Law unconstitutional if interpreted to apply to community-based basic education,” Justice Foekh said.
In the Q&A session, Makmur Asih from Ogan Hilir Regency BMPS asked how the Regulation of the Ministry of Home Affairs No. 77 of 2020 on Technical Guidelines for Regional Financial Management understated private schools. Justice Foekh answered that the Constitutional Court through its decision, including on education budget, could not interfere in the implementation of the norm.
“However, the Constitutional Court’s commitment to implementing these constitutional rights has been expressly conveyed through its decisions,” he said.
Writer : Sri Pujianti
Editor : Lulu Anjarsari P.
Translator : Yuniar Widiastuti (NL)
Translation uploaded on 1/31/2023 14:57 WIB
Disclaimer: The original version of the news is in Indonesian. In case of any differences between the English and the Indonesian versions, the Indonesian version will prevail.
Saturday, January 21, 2023 | 07:35 WIB 295