Indonesian parents are voicing concern that schoolchildren are being easily exposed to radicalism in schools. (ucanews.com photo)
Indonesian parents are demanding the government step in to prevent children being exposed to radical ideologies in schools, after it emerged that nearly half the people who completed a recent deradicalization program were children.
The parents were shocked to learn that 75 out of 161 of the people rehabilitated in the program were school-aged children and teens.
The rehabilitation program was co-managed by the Ministry of Social Welfare, Religious Ministry, the National Counterterrorism Agency and the anti-terror squad Densus 88.
The children were exposed to extremist ideologies through their parents, who traveled to war-torn Syria and teachers affiliated to extremist groups, the social welfare ministry said.
Anastasia Eko Purwandari, a mother of three elementary schoolchildren, told ucanews.com that one major contributory factor was that many schools focus too much on memorizing religious textbooks rather then guiding students on how to apply religious values in their daily life.
"Studying religion should not merely be about theory but how children should relate to society," said Purwandari, a parishioner of St. Albert the Great Church in Bekasi, West Java.
Delia Wahtikasari, a Muslim and mother of two elementary schoolchildren, said radical teaching would affect a child's way of thinking and doing things.
"These can even can change a child's future purpose in life," she added.
The government needs to change the way religion is taught in schools, according to Franciscan Father Vinsensius Darmin Mbula, chairman of the National Council of Catholic Education.
"The government needs to focus on the aspect of logic, meaning that schools should lead children to reflection and not just tell them the do's and don'ts," he said.