Death of STIP Cadet, Anti-Violence Rules in Educational Institutions Need to Be Expanded

This rule needs to be extended to educational institutions under other ministries/institutions, such as official schools at the College of Shipping Sciences (STIP).

This is because the case at STIP is not the first time this has happened and it is suspected that this has become a tradition of excessive seniority. In Kompas's reporting over the last decade, the abuse of STIP cadets occurred on April 25 2014. At that time, Dimas Dikita Handoko (20), a second year STIP student, died after being assaulted by his seniors at a boarding house in Semper West, Cilincing, North Jakarta.

"The strategy for preventing and handling violence in educational institutions requires a broader policy. Perhaps a Presidential Regulation can be directly formed because it occurs in educational institutions that cross ministries," said Mukhlisi when contacted in Jakarta on Sunday (5/5/2024).

The Cahaya Guru Foundation notes that there were at least 136 cases of violence in the education sector throughout 2023, involving a total of 134 perpetrators and 339 victims. Even 19 of them died. This data was collected from January 1st to December 10th, 2023 through monitoring of certified mass media coverage by the Press Council.

Cases of bullying and sexual violence were the highest in 2023 with 42 and 40 cases respectively, followed by physical violence with 34 cases. The most violence occurred in elementary schools with 40 cases followed by junior high schools with 35 cases.

Another case that needs the government's attention is intolerance. Although only four cases have been recorded in the media, the impact will be extensive for school communities ranging from teachers, students, school principals, foundations, to the surrounding communities.

Researchers have concluded that there are 2-3 cases of violence in the education environment every week. This is an alarm for the education world that the current situation is not good.

Also read: Violence Leads to Death Recurred, STIP Evaluated

Mukhlisi added that the statement made by the Chairman of STIP Jakarta, Ahmad Wahid, stating that the latest death case of Putu Satria Ananta Rustika (19) was caused by personal issues with his senior, Tegar Rafi Sanjaya (21), is regrettable. This is because such incidents have happened again.

"This proves that the tradition and culture of bullying and violence still occur in educational institutions under the Ministry of Transportation's government-owned schools," he said.

Strict sanctions will be imposed, namely dishonorable expulsion from education for cadets who commit violence.

Under evaluation

Meanwhile, the Human Resources Development Agency for Transportation (BPSDMP) of the Ministry of Transportation is currently evaluating the upbringing pattern of this official school for future improvements. An internal investigation team is being formed to address this issue.

For the short term, caregiver personnel and surveillance cameras placed in the education sector areas including classrooms, stairwells, hallways, and toilet areas in STIP will be added. The role of academic mentors and cadet officers will be optimized to monitor the daily lives of cadets, both academic and non-academic activities. This includes when there are problems by always building communication with the cadet officers or guardians.

Also read: Death of STIP Cadet Students, Needs Serious Handling of Violence in Schools

STIP (Indonesian Shipping College) will also actively involve all parties related to the character formation process such as alumni associations and professional associations of sailors. Strict sanctions will be imposed, namely expulsion from education for cadets who commit acts of violence in a dishonorable manner.

"The elements and patterns of upbringing at the campus will be evaluated in accordance with applicable regulations so that incidents of violence do not occur again," said the Acting Head of BPSDMP, Subagiyo.

Meanwhile, the North Jakarta Police have named Tegar as a suspect. Tegar was charged under Article 338 juncto subsidiary 351 Paragraph 3 concerning abuse resulting in death with the threat of a sentence of 15 years in prison.

North Jakarta Metro Police Chief Commissioner Gidion Arif Setyawan revealed that Tegar's motive for abusing the victim was a tradition of taking action against senior cadets against junior cadets who made the mistake of wearing sportswear when entering class. Due to this mistake, the senior cadets took action against the junior cadets with violence which resulted in the victim's death at 07.55 WIB.

"This action was carried out with repressive actions or acts of violence which caused the death of the victim," said Gidion.

Also read: One ​​STIP student dies after being assaulted by his senior, the perpetrator is suspected to be more than one person

The results of the victim's autopsy showed wounds and bleeding in the chest or around the solar plexus as well as abrasions in the mouth. Apart from that, there were food scraps that rose to the top as a result of the suspect trying to pull the victim's tongue.