REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, SURABAYA -- The Surabaya city government has banned students from celebrating Valentine's Day within and beyond the school premises as part of its efforts to curb any untoward activities among the youth.
"Schools have limited time to monitor their students. Therefore, we have issued a circular, so that they will not be involved in activities, which are beyond the limits of their propriety," Head of the Surabaya City Education Office M. Ikhsan stated at a hearing with Commission D of the City Legislative Council (DPRD) here on Friday.
The city education office has issued Circular No. 421/1121/436.4/2015 banning students from celebrating Valentine's Day in schools.
According to Ikhsan, the circular was issued to prevent residents of Surabaya city from indulging in activities, which are against the social norms and the culture of Indonesia.
To that end, he stated that his office prohibits holding Valentine's Day celebrations inside or outside schools.
"We have also sent a circular to all parents or guardians to supervise their children," he noted.
He expressed hope that the parents will monitor the activities of their children outside the school premises, as the schools have limited time to supervise them.
Members of the Commission D of the City Legislative Council Ibnu Sobir and Laila Mufidah lauded the education office for issuing the circular.
The circular is important for the younger generation as it bans the students from indulging in any negative activities, they added.
Surabaya is one of the Indonesian cities to have banned Valentine's Day celebrations.
On Thursday, West Nusa Tenggara Governor T.G.H. Muhammad Zainul Majdi stated that Valentine's Day is not in line with the ideology of the Indonesian nation.
Not all foreign cultures are good to follow. Moreover, the vast majority of Indonesian people are Muslims, he emphasized.
It is of no use for Indonesians to celebrate Valentine Day, he remarked.
The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) has banned the celebration of Valentine's Day, which falls on February 14, citing its potentially harmful effects on the morals of the younger generation.
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