Dilemma of Anti-corruption Education

The notion of applying anti-corruption education in our national education system is now becoming more upheld by the government. Through the Ministry of National Education, the government has dealt with Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) in generating the curriculum, including the materials, on how to integrate this education into other current subjects. This is the commitment of the government to eradicate wide spread corruption on almost all parts of society.

Regarding to acute corruption phenomena, as Thomas Lickona (1992) stated corruption becomes the hardest demoralizing of the society. This is because corruption doesn’t only destroy the individuals, but more than that, it creates problem towards the social life and norm. It infringes the law.

The notion of eradicating corruption through education is precisely true. This is because demoralized-society should be re-moralized through education as the media. The big question to this idea is that how to apply and adjust this education?

Almost all educations require certain and proper method of its application. In applying anti-corruption education, it is facing special challenge. This is because the application occurs on the corrupt country in which all the system there is cases regarding to corruption, not excepting the education aspect.

Besides requiring the best method, the effective control is a must. No means to give negative and pessimistic thought, but it is rather proving deeper view toward the future implication to this application.

When the control is weak and also infringed by such corruption practices, this becomes a boomerang for the Indonesian society. Instead of eradicating corruption in the society, this will lead the students to be hegemonized by the corruption cases. Moreover, the least-control given to the media to the corruption cases also contributes to hegemonize to give the perspective to corruption is as common and acceptable thing in society.

Here is the dilemma of the anti-corruption education. On one side, the education becomes the most effective of re-moralizing the society. Yet, the small mistake made during the application and the control may create the hardest implication to the society.

If I may conclude, instead of squealing with the case of corruption, the government should prioritize education which not only gives the perspective about the concept of true or false. This emphasizes on introducing the habits of how to do something good such as character-building education.

This character education indeed have been applied and become part of our education system. Though, the existence is not as popular since the first. It is the time of government to promote again about the character education, then the concept of anti-corruption is given when the society—and the government—is ready and have good habit and good character.