Ketimpangan Akses dan Kualitas Pendidikan Masyarakat Menengah ke Bawah dalam Novel Guru Aini Karya Andrea Hirata: Kajian Sosiologi Sastra

Abstract

The novel, as one form of literary work, possesses the power to narratively and emotionally portray social, economic, and cultural conditions. In the context of this study, Andrea Hirata’s Guru Aini is used as the primary source to trace and analyze the inequality of access to and quality of education through the characters of Bu Guru Desi and Aini. The method employed in this research is a qualitative descriptive approach, which involves collecting, organizing, classifying, analyzing, and interpreting data. By applying the sociology of literature approach, it is found that the novel sharply reflects the social reality concerning unequal access to and quality of education in Indonesia. The findings of this study reveal that the depiction of educational inequality in Guru Aini, particularly among the lower-middle class, encompasses issues such as the high cost of education, discriminatory access, policy disparities, and gaps in educational quality. These are illustrated through various characters: Aini, the protagonist, who struggles with expensive university entrance fees and living costs during her education; Dinah, Aini’s mother, who realizes the lack of adequate learning spaces for children from poor families outside of school; Enun, Aini’s friend, who faces discrimination as a girl deemed unworthy of pursuing higher education; Mahmud, who highlights the limited availability of schools; Bu Guru Desi, the central figure, who recognizes the influence of the environment in shaping educational perspectives; the changing curriculum that complicates both Bu Guru Desi as a teacher and Aini as a student; Bu Guru Afifah, who represents the mismatch between teacher qualifications and their fields; and Pak Abnu, the principal, who perceives their school as merely an ornament of national education.