Govt to overhaul national education<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The government will mark National Education Day on May 2 by
\nlaunching a program to revamp the national education system,
\nwhich has been widely criticized for failing to foster
\ncreativity.<\/p>\n
Minister of Religious Affairs Said Agil Husain Al-Munawar told
\nreporters that the Cabinet of President Megawati Soekarnoputri
\nhad assigned himself, Coordinating Minister of People's Welfare
\nJusuf Kalla, Minister of National Education Abdul Malik Fajar,
\nMinister of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno and State Minister of
\nAdministrative Reform Faisal Tamin to carry out the program.<\/p>\n
\"We have to admit that our education system is at its lowest
\nebb,\" Said Agil said as quoted by Antara on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Speaking at a function in the Lampung capital of Bandar
\nLampung, Said said the government would not blame past
\nauthoritarian regimes for the poor quality of education in the
\ncountry.<\/p>\n
Said Agil maintained that the small state budget allocation
\nfor education, and the leniency of most teachers were the main
\nreasons for the system's poor condition.<\/p>\n
\"Many teachers tend to corrupt the mark of their students and
\nallow the pupils to move up regardless of their school
\nperformance,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Indonesia is among developing countries which reserve less
\nthan 10 percent of their state budget for education. The current
\nfinancial crisis has added to the educational woes.<\/p>\n
Due to the poor standard of education, Indonesians fail to
\nmatch their foreign counterparts in terms of skills and
\nintelligence.<\/p>\n
\"We are still regarded as blue collar workers, whose skills
\nare very limited,\" Said said.<\/p>\n
Vice President Hamzah Haz has repeatedly called for an
\nimprovement of the national curriculum as part of efforts needed
\nto upgrade education standards.<\/p>\n
The country celebrates National Education Day every May 2 to
\nhonor the birthday of Ki Hajar Dewantoro, a proponent of
\neducation who built the Taman Siswa school in 1922, the first of
\nits kind which teaches nationalism.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/govt-to-overhaul-national-education-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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