August 28, 2025 | 12:07 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia's Department of Education has prohibited students from participating in today's protest, Thursday, August 28, 2025. For example, the Banten Provincial Department of Education has issued a circular banning students from participating in protests. The ban has been socialized to schools in the area.
One of the high school students (SMA) in Banten, West Java, Iwan — not his real name, said he received the circular. He feels that the government is overly monitoring them. "Yesterday afternoon, there was a circular from the Banten Provincial Department of Education to the school principals. The letter was forwarded to the student's WhatsApp group. Then, the parents conveyed it to their respective children," Iwan said when contacted on Thursday, August 28, 2025.
Iwan wonders why the government is prohibiting high school students from participating in the protest. For Iwan, joining the protest is a means to voice opinions and fight against injustice. "When we take to the streets, it means the situation is urgent. The authorities have been too oppressive," he said.
He also questions what he learned in school about critical thinking, only to discover that it cannot be applied in the real world. When students think critically, Iwan feels that their thinking is considered dangerous. "We are taught to be critical in running the country. But when something like this happens, we are forbidden and silenced," he said in astonishment.
The circular shown by Iwan contains instructions from the Head of the Banten Provincial Department of Education and Culture to all high school and vocational school principals to monitor and supervise their students so that they do not participate in the demonstration on Thursday, August 28, 2025.
"This is done to ensure the safety and security, as well as to ensure that the teaching and learning process in schools runs smoothly," as written in the letter. The letter dated August 27, 2025, was signed by Lukman, the Head of the Banten Provincial Department of Education and Culture.
Previously, the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, Abdul Mu'ti, asked students throughout Indonesia to participate in the protests.
"We urge all students in Indonesia not to be provoked by news that cannot be accounted for their truthfulness," said Mu'ti after attending a limited meeting with President Prabowo Subianto at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Wednesday, August 27, 2025, as reported by Antara.
Mu'ti considered news that could not be verified as truthful or hoaxes to be a trigger for student involvement in the protest in front of the House of Representatives (DPR) building in Senayan, Jakarta, on Monday, August 25, 2025.
The Minister of Primary and Secondary Education urged teachers and school principals to pay attention and supervise students so they do not get involved in activities beyond their role and duty as students.
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