Education for working life<\/p>\n
I read with interest Mr. Mochtar Buchori's opinion about
\nsuperschools and education. He raises a valid point in
\nMisperceptions hinder changes in education (The Jakarta Post,
\nJan. 11, 1996).<\/p>\n
Young people are led to believe that the only useful learning
\ncomes from attending college, listening to professors talk from a
\nplatform and reproducing required information on occasions called
\nexaminations.<\/p>\n
Developing countries have been intimidated by the undisputed
\nacceptance of the assumption that a population made out of PhDs
\nis a precondition for economic take-off. Following the
\nconventional wisdom that the number of people in universities
\ncorrelates with the potential for economic development;
\ndeveloping countries ended up with more engineers than
\ntechnicians, more doctors than nurses and, in extreme cases, with
\narchitects but no carpenters.<\/p>\n
A surplus of university graduates feeds developed countries
\nwith developing countries' best educated people. The India
\nInstitute of Technology (IIT) keeps producing highly qualified
\npeople for export to the U.S., Canada, UK and Australia. A survey
\nof 1986 graduates of IIT has shown that nearly half of the
\ngraduates are now abroad. IIT spends an average US$12,000 on each
\ngraduate in subsidies. According to official estimates, the
\nannual loss from migration by the institute's graduates could be
\nmore than $4.5 million. That means a developing country is
\nsubsidizing developed ones.<\/p>\n
In contrast, the system of every country with a broad
\neducational system is to profoundly train a few people in a very
\nnarrow field. These are the ones that strap-on a couple of
\nboosters to a rocket to send a satellite into geostationary orbit
\nor develop a new technique to remove tumors. (With the occasional
\npaleoclimatologist saying the ice caps are melting). A very
\nshallow education is spread over the rest of the population. Just
\nenough for the proverbial \"porter of a hotel or cashier at the
\nbank.\" Many countries developed using this system.<\/p>\n
What developing countries need is a program to direct the
\nmajority of its students after finishing compulsory school at the
\nage of 15 or 16, to two to four-year apprenticeships to prepare
\nthem for working life. This would prepare them as middle-level
\ntechnicians: electrotechnicians, electronic technicians,
\nmechanics, laboratory technicians and tradespeople of all kinds.<\/p>\n
OSVALDO COELHO<\/p>\n
Bandung, West Java<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/education-for-working-life-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }