Educators must adapt to global changes: Wardiman<\/p>\n
YOGYAKARTA (JP): The education world must constantly adapt
\nitself to meet the changing needs of the community, education
\nexperts said yesterday.<\/p>\n
But while Indonesia's Minister of Education and Culture
\nWardiman Djojonegoro emphasized the need for education to meet
\nthe demand for qualified and skilled workers, Australian
\neducation professor David Aspin stressed the need to instill
\ndemocratic values and leadership skills through education.<\/p>\n
The two experts were speakers at an international symposium on
\nlong distance learning which got underway here on Monday night.
\nMore than 600 experts from 24 countries are taking part.<\/p>\n
Wardiman said in his address opening the five-day symposium
\nthat rapid advances in science and technology have led to changes
\nin the minimum skills and knowledge required of workers by the
\ncommunity, particularly the industrial world.<\/p>\n
The methods of education and training should adapt to these
\nchanges, Wardiman said.<\/p>\n
He admitted that it would be unrealistic to expect existing
\neducation institutions to meet all workers' demands.<\/p>\n
He said education should be seen as a \"never ending\" process
\nof the development of an individual and this would include,
\nbesides formal education, the various further educational courses
\nthat many people are now taking.<\/p>\n
Aspin, of the Monash University in Melbourne, said education,
\nparticularly higher education, should not be seen solely as a
\nplace to groom people for industrial, business or civil service
\njobs, but also to prepare them to become political leaders in a
\ndemocracy.<\/p>\n
The campus, he said, should develop individual characters and
\ntraits required of democratic political leaders such as a strong
\nsense of humanitarianism, social sensitivity and the ability to
\nrespect and accept criticism from others.<\/p>\n
He warned that the 21st century will see a growing demand for
\ngreater political democracy, in addition to a greater demand for
\nfood, clothing and housing.<\/p>\n
The world of higher education, therefore, must prepare
\ncurricula and education concepts that are capable of developing
\nsocial and political values among students, he said.<\/p>\n
The development of communication skills for students should
\nalso be encouraged, he added.<\/p>\n
Education, Aspin said, should groom future leaders with the
\nability to conceptually solve the problems of society, which is
\nincreasingly becoming more complex, Aspin said.<\/p>\n
The symposium Networking into the 21st Century: Prospects for
\nDistance Education is the first international symposium on
\ndistance learning, a method most appropriate for countries as
\nlarge as Indonesia in reaching pupils in remote areas. (har\/emb)<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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