Responding to the involvement of Military Academy (Akmil) cadets in educating students at the People's Schools (Sekolah Rakyat), Amnesty International Indonesia's Executive Director Usman Hamid said:
"This is evidence of the increasingly widespread militarisation of civilian space in Indonesia. The government turns a blind eye to criticism of its policy of involving the military in government programs outside of defence affairs. Clearly, the government has not learned from the tragedy of the deaths of three civilians while undergoing basic military training to become administrators of the Red and White Village Cooperatives and Fishing Village Cooperatives.
Civilian education is a neutral space where students should develop their reasoning and critical thinking potential. Classrooms must be free from military intervention. The pretext of character building and discipline in children is not an excuse to allow the military to enter the civilian education sphere.
Military discipline is essentially established through a command system, a rigid chain of hierarchy and based on hierarchical obedience. This is diametrically opposed to the principles of civilian education, which cultivates critical reasoning, freedom of thought and a safe space for expression without the constraints of a military hierarchy.
How can children learn to think critically if their learning environment uses a military educational approach that prioritises obedience, strength, and even violence?
Even more worrying, this program targets People's Schools, a facility for children from underprivileged families. Placing Military Academy cadets in every school will create an imbalance in power relations for vulnerable groups. Yet children truly need a compassionate, humane and motivating approach, not a military-style indoctrination of obedience.
According to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which Indonesia has ratified, in addition to developing a child's personality, talents and mental and physical abilities, children's' education must be directed towards fostering respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.
'Therefore, the government must immediately review and cancel this plan. Focus on education that prioritises understanding universal human rights values and strengthening their identity as dignified civilians, not diminishing it through a military educational approach.'
Military dominance in civilian spaces, including in the administration has never been a solution to improving government performance, let alone poverty alleviation, as the People's Schools purport to achieve. The New Order [regime of former president Suharto] provides an important lesson: militarisation of civilian spaces leads to the strengthening of authoritarian practices and human rights violations. When militarisation of civilian spaces intensifies, the victims are the civilians. We must not let students at People's Schools become the next victims."
Background
According to media reports, the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Indonesian Military (TNI) are preparing a character-building program for students at People's Schools involving approximately one thousand Military Academy cadets. The program will begin in early August 2026.
The government will assign five Military Academy cadets to each People's School to provide materials on neat clothing and dormitory rooms, under the pretext of fostering student discipline and orderliness. The TNI Academy will send one thousand Level 1 and Level 2 cadets to conduct character-building training at 178 People's Schools.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Batalkan pelibatan militer untuk mendidik anak-anak Sekolah Rakyat".]
