EAST KALIMANTAN: Administration has ordered the withdrawal of textbooks containing vulgar material that were distributed to elementary school students in the provincial capital of Balikpapan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Archipelago Reported News.
The textbooks were deemed inappropriate. Their content on human reproduction was presented in a way that was considered too vulgar for students of such young ages.
“We have held a meeting with Deputy East Kalimantan Governor Farid Wadjdy. The decision was made to order the East Kalimantan Education Agency to withdraw the textbooks from all schools,” Edy Yudohanda, the director of Kaltim Education Watch (KEW), said as quoted by tempo.co on Tuesday.
The material that caused the uproar was a section on human anatomy that explained genitalia, which Edy saw as problematic. “For older students, the lesson may be appropriate, but not for elementary kids.”
The textbooks found in Balikpapan had been distributed to schools a month ago. “This is the National Education Agency’s mistake,” Edy added. “Did they even look at the book before it was distributed to determine whether it was appropriate for elementary students or not?”
Edy considered the withdrawal of the book detrimental for the student’s parents. He said the book was not distributed freely in Balikpapan, but that it was instead sold for Rp.9,000 (95 US cents) despite the claims of the local education agency, which said it gave it away for free since it was funded through the School Operational Budget Aid (BOS).
The withdrawal of the textbook occurred roughly a week after East Java authorities found and withdrew school worksheets containing a picture of a Japanese porn star. (rms/swd)