Nine nations discuss 'Education for All'<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Education ministers and experts from nine of the
\nworld's most populous nations began a meeting in Indonesia
\nyesterday to hammer out the concept of \"Education For All\" as a
\nway of eradicating illiteracy.<\/p>\n
President Soeharto gave the keynote address at the three-day
\nmeeting, which was opened at the State Palace in Jakarta and
\nwhich was also attended by UNESCO Director General Federico
\nMayor.<\/p>\n
After the opening ceremony, the delegates immediately
\nproceeded to the holiday island of Bali, where the conference
\nwill be held until it closes on Saturday.<\/p>\n
The conference is a follow up to the 1993 summit of the nine
\nmost populous countries in the world in New Delhi, where the
\nleaders, including President Soeharto, endorsed the concept of
\n\"Education For All\" as crucial for the advancement of any nation.<\/p>\n
The same nine countries are represented at the meeting in
\nIndonesia. They are Bangladesh, Brazil, China, India, Egypt,
\nMexico, Nigeria, Pakistan and host Indonesia. Together, they
\nrepresent more than half of the world's population.<\/p>\n
The conference opening was timed to coincide with the
\ncelebration to mark the 30th International Literacy Day and was
\nalso used by President Soeharto to launch September as \"Reading
\nMonth\" and \"Visit the Library Month\", which are part of the
\ngovernment's efforts to encourage the Indonesian public to pick
\nup the habit of reading.<\/p>\n
The conference will be chiefly used by delegates to share
\ntheir experiences and learn, with respect to the implementation
\nof the \"Education For All\" program in each country, Indonesia's
\nMinister of Education and Culture Wardiman Djojonegoro said at
\nthe opening ceremony. \"It is hoped that, in the future, there
\nwill be improvement in cooperation between the nine countries, so
\nas to improve the future human quality of half of the world's
\npopulation,\" he said.<\/p>\n
President Soeharto, in his keynote address, said that the
\nexperiences of advanced countries have shown that national
\ndevelopment cannot be separated from the quality of its people
\nwhich, in turn, depended on their education level.<\/p>\n
To implement \"Education For All\", he proposed the delegates
\nconcentrate on two aspects: finding innovative approaches to
\nexpand access to education, and improving the quality of
\neducation.<\/p>\n
He said the programs worked out under the concept would not
\nonly benefit the nine countries taking part, but also the rest of
\nthe world.<\/p>\n
Indonesia, he explained to the delegates, has strived to
\neliminate illiteracy, which still stood at six million people in
\nthe 10-44 years age bracket at the last count two years ago.<\/p>\n
The government now hopes to eliminate the illiteracy rate,
\ncurrently put at about 12 percent of the total population of
\nabout 195 million, before the end of the century. (emb)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/nine-nations-discuss-education-for-all-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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