Educational Rights of Indigenous Belief Students in Indonesia: A Pancasila Justice and Freedom of Religion/Belief Perspective

Fulfilling the right to education for students from indigenous belief (Penghayat Kepercayaan) communities in Indonesia continues to face systemic barriers. These obstacles include limited access to education tailored to indigenous faiths, a shortage of qualified educators, an unoptimized curriculum, and philosophical, sociological, and structural problems, as well as discriminatory practices that compromise freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) in education. The study aimed to analyse how the national education system realize the right to education for adherents of indigenous faiths through the analytical lenses of Pancasila Justice and FoRB. Using a socio-legal methodology with legislative and conceptual approaches, this research evaluates international human rights instruments, domestic legislation, and Constitutional Court Decision No. 97/PUU-XIV/2016. It also applies recognition theory to examine the nexus between legal recognition, educational policy, and these students’ lived experiences of discrimination. The findings demonstrate that the constitutional recognition of indigenous beliefs has not been fully institutionalized in educational administration because the state system remains oriented toward the paradigm of official religions. Consequently, this study contends that realizing the right to education goes beyond mere formal access; it requires the guarantee of identity recognition, equitable treatment, and robust protection against discrimination. Therefore, ensuring the right to education for students of indigenous beliefs must aim for a model of substantive educational justice grounded in Pancasila, integrating the principles of recognition, equality, and freedom of belief into the national education framework.