Hello buddy! Anyone know who Suwardi Suryaningrat is? Hmm, if it’s a little foreign, who knows Ki Hajar Dewantara? Yep, both are the same character. However, the name Ki Hajar Dewantara is more popular than Suwardi Suryaningrat which is his real name.
This Indonesian Education Hero is already widely known by the Indonesian people. Thanks to his struggles and thoughts, his birthday on May 2 was designated as National Education Day.
Although he is known as the Father of Indonesian Education, not many people know what his struggles and thoughts are like for the world of education in the country. Therefore, let’s read this article to find out more information!
Raden Mas Suwardi Suryaningrat alias Ki Hajar Dewantara was born in Yogyakarta on May 2, 1889. He comes from a noble family. His father, Kanjeng Pangeran Ario Suryaningrat, and his mother, Raden Ayu Sandiah, were nobles in Puro Pakualaman, Yogyakarta.
Being born into a noble family does not necessarily make Suwardi Suryaningrat ignore the future of the nation’s next generation. He viewed the politics of the Dutch East Indies government as very discriminatory against the natives. Therefore, Suwardi Suryaningrat continues to strive for the equal rights of the natives and the colonizers.
Education time
Thanks to his nobility, Suwardi Suryaningrat was entitled to study at the Europeesche Lagere School (ELS), a Dutch elementary school. After graduating from ELS in 1904, he was offered to become a student of STOVIA (School tot Opleiding Van Indische Artsen) – Javanese Medical School in Jakarta.
He accepted the offer and had a chance to study at STOVIA in 1905-1910. However, due to illness, he did not go to class and his scholarship was revoked. There are indications that the revocation of his scholarship was not purely because of illness, but because there was a political charge from the Dutch East Indies government.
A few days before his scholarship was revoked, Suwardi Suryaningrat alias Ki Hajar Dewantara had indeed declared a poem describing the authority of Ali Basah Sentot Prawirodirdjo, a Diponegoro warlord.
It is alleged that the Dutch East Indies government was not happy with Suwardi Suryaningrat’s attitude which aroused the national spirit to rebel. He was known to be scathing in criticizing the Dutch East Indies government.
Hot Criticism of a Journalist
After failing to become a doctor at STOVIA, Suwardi Suryaningrat alias Ki Hajar Dewantara changed his mind as a journalist and joined various national movement organizations such as Budi Utomo, Sarekat Islam, and Indische Partij.
At Indische Partij, he has a comrade in arms, namely Dr. Ernest François Eugène Douwes Dekker (known as Danudirja Setiabudi) and dr. Cipto Mangunkusumo. The three of them were dubbed the “Triple of Triads”.
Suwardi Suryaningrat’s criticism is getting sharper, he once opposed the celebration of 100 years of Dutch independence in Indonesia. According to him, the colonizers should not celebrate independence in their colonies, even funded by the indigenous people.
He channeled this protest through a treatise entitled ” Als ik eens Nederlander was ” (If I were a Dutchman) in July 1913. The 5,000 copies of this treatise made the Dutch East Indies government furious.
Exile to the Netherlands
After that, “Three Triangle” was exiled to the Netherlands. In the land of the people, Suwardi Suryaningrat lives with all his limitations. He survived by becoming a journalist for Dutch newspapers and magazines.
The Dutch newspapers, which were very friendly with Tiga Serangkai, namely “ Het Volk ” and “ De Nieuwe Grone Amsterdamer ” gave the Tiga Serangkai an opportunity to write and share ideas about the ideals of the struggle for independence of the Indonesian people.
Thanks to the influence of Tiga Serangkai, the association of Indonesian students in the Netherlands who are members of the “Indische Vereeniging” increasingly emphasizes the spirit of nationalism and the spirit of independence, and dares to change its name to “Perhimpunan Indonesia”.
The knowledge and understanding of the social history of education that enlightened and thought Suwardi Suryaningrat, precisely when he was in exile in the Netherlands. It was there that he learned a lot about education and teaching problems.
Student Park
After returning to Indonesia, Suwardi Suryaningrat was reminded by his wife of the idea he had conveyed to KH Ahmad Dahlan about the need for a national university to educate struggle cadres to oppose the colonialists.
In the end, he and his friends founded the ” National Onderwijs Instituut Taman Siswa ” in Yogyakarta on July 3, 1922. The Taman Siswa National College opened schools of various levels, from kindergarten to high school.
The birth of the Taman Siswa National College was well received by many people. Hundreds of National Student Park Universities are growing everywhere, imbued with the spirit of love for the Motherland. Suwardi Suryaningrat with his Taman Siswa is famous everywhere.
With the establishment of Taman Siswa, Suwardi Suryaningrat has succeeded in establishing an educational institution that lays the foundations for a liberating education as well as laying the foundations for the national education system in the country.
The name “Ki Hajar Dewantara”
On February 3, 1928, Suwardi Suryaningrat changed his name to Ki Hajar Dewantara. According to Ki Utomo Darmadi, Hadjar means educator, Dewan means messenger, and Tara means unrivaled. So the meaning of the name Ki Hajar Dewantara is the Unrivaled Father of People’s Envoy Educator in Facing Colonialism.
The End of Ki Hajar Dewantara’s Struggle
After leading the Taman Siswa National College which had spread throughout Indonesia for 37 years, Ki Hajar Dewantara died on April 26, 1959 at the Ki Hajar Dewantara Padepokan. He is buried in the Great Pendopo Taman Siswa Yogyakarta.
The departure of Suwardi Suryaningrat or Ki Hajar Dewantara did not end his struggle just like that. Ki Hajar Dewantara has left a legacy that is so important to Indonesia, especially in the field of education. He inherited the education system and the fighting spirit for the children of the nation in pursuing a decent education.
Some of the slogans are used by the state, such as Tut Wuri Handayani, which is currently the motto of education and the logo of the Ministry of Education and Culture.
In addition to Tut Wuri Handayani’s motto, one of Ki Hajar Dewantara’s slogans that increases the spirit of struggle is “It is better to die in honor than to live in disgrace”. This slogan was echoed in opposition to the Wild School Act of 1932.
Whether Suwardi Suryaningrat or Ki Hajar Dewantara, he was glorified, respected, and held in high esteem not because of his aristocratic descent and not because of his many wealth, but because of his extraordinary charity and service to others, the nation, and the country.
Reference: Ki Hajar Dewantara’s book, Thoughts and Struggles, published by the National Awakening Museum in 2017
