A group of visitors appeared at Cisarua in the quiet mountainous area of West Java in early October last year. They were special guests of the Ministry of National Education. But their host did not treat them – mostly lecturers and teachers from Jakarta and Bandung – with the usual hospitality afforded to guests.

For over a week at the Cisarua resort of the Ministry of National Education (Depdiknas), a set of strict rules applied to t