Curriculum on Dayak Tribe to be Formulated Starting 2010.

Tempo Interactive, Tuesday, 22 December, 2009 | 15:51 WIB

Dayak Girls

TEMPO Interactive, Palangkaraya:The Central Kalimantan Government will formulate the curriculum and teaching materials on Dayak culture and customs.

To realize this wish, several university academicians will be asked to cooperate.When called on Monday (14/12), Central Kalimantan governor Teras Nanang said that starting from 2010 teaching materials from primary schools to high schools would be prepared.

The governor said that the regional government will also prepare teachers who properly understand local Dayak culture and customs, as well as the cultural institutions. “The teachers do not have to be local residents. If there is a Papuan who understands the culture and customs well, we will recruit him. That is the spirit of “Unity in Diversity”,” he said.

The governor explained that the local content was in line with Regional Regulation no. 16/2008 on Dayak Culture Institutions and State Decree no. 20/2003 on National Education Systems.

Meanwhile, the Central Kalimantan Head of the Education Office Hardy Rampay in Palangkaraya said he hoped that schools could cooperate by asking Damang (a cultural leader) to teach additional local content, while the basic content could be based on the teaching of the Central Kalimantan native language, Ngaju.

“Every school could ask Damang to teach local Dayak culture and language, for example according to river flows, because the spreading of this culture is in line with the river. They could also teach local songs which have been long forgotten,” said Hardy.

Hardy added that he saw a decrease in the preservation of local art, culture and language so that it needed more intensive efforts. In Central Kalimantan there is at least 22 local languages used by indigenous people.

The nine languages widely used are Ngaju, Manyan, Ot Danum, Katingan, Bakumpai, Tamuan, Sampit, Banjar and Melayu languages.

KARANA W

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