The Role of Universities on Improving Literacy, Numeracy, and Character Education at Schools

Abstract

Deviant behaviors amongst students are the indication of the failure of education system, involving all elements within national education system. In this case, I like to criticize the elimination of religious skills in Curriculum 2013 Revised, of course, with except of the school subjects of Religion and of Pancasila and Citizenship. This paper aims to develop a model of executing character education at school. The elimination of religious skills is not consistent with the government's persistent policy on maintaining the religious competencies for all school subjects, namely Kompetensi Dasar 1 (KD 1). It is likely that the government does not have a clear conception on how to implement the religious skills in the school subjects. We should refer to Pancasila, as the foundation as well as way of life for Indonesian people, that the first pillar of Pancasila, the belief in the principle of the Oneness of God, should direct our activities as well as give meaning to our understanding of worldly life such as stipulated on the other pillars of Pancasila. Accordingly, religious skills should be integrated to all school subjects by way of interpreting the relationship of the facts of a certain phenomenon or social reality or event etc. based on the national culture which accommodate students' religious paradigms as well as their local cultures.