Jakarta – The Education, Culture, Research and Technology Ministry’s Character Strengthening Center (Puspeka) has launched an intersectoral collaboration with several related ministries and government agencies as well as UNICEF to support character-strengthening program.

“The collaboration is intended to synergize Puspeka program with the goal of each sector,” the Ministry’s Secretary General Suharti noted in a statement on Saturday.

This collaboration is undertaken along with 17 ministries/government agencies, National Commission on Violence against Women, National Commission on Disabilities, Indonesian Child Protection Commission, and United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF).

The programs related to the intersectoral collaboration include strengthening character through the Pancasila Student Profile (PPP) and eradicating bullying, sexual violence,and intolerance, she said.

It also involves an effort to build the spirits of unity in diversity, inclusivity, and equality in education, family and community which become part of the education ecosystem.

The intersectoral collaboration is very important for the character strengthening efforts, because it will produce synergy programs that can be implemented together.

“Let us strengthen our cooperation; collaborate; share experience; and work together to find solutions through programs that can be synergized,” she remarked.

Meanwhile, Head of Puspeka Rusprita Putri Utami noted that a collaboration has become an important aspect in optimizing and spreading the implementation of character strengthening and violence eradication in education units. “Our homework in the future is collaboration. How we can remap the inputs that have been given to, then be executed together into a more comprehensive character strengthening program,” she said.

National Commission on Disabilities’ Commissioner II Rachmita Maun Harahap welcomes the character strengthening program-related collaboration across different sectors.

She said, in the future, the collaboration would hopefully continue to ensure an inclusive education toward the development of inclusive Indonesia in accordance to President Joko Widodo’s mandate.

Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection Ministry’s Special Condition Children Protection Assistant Deputy Prima Dea Pangestu also expressed hope that this activity could synergize various character strengthening programs.

Galuh Ibrahim from the Agency for Pancasila Ideology Education (BPIP) said that character strengthening program is part of the efforts to realize a safe and comfortable education environment for all school community members, especially students.

“School is not just a place for learning but it is also an education laboratory. This should be reflected in every program implemented by the government by involving every element of society,” he added.

Source: Antara News