Scholarships urgently needed<\/p>\n
Remember Mulyono, the 18-year-old village boy from East Java
\nwho labored his way through high school to end up winning a
\nbronze medal in this year's International Biology Olympiad in
\nBrisbane, Australia, in July? That distinction earned Mulyono a
\nfree ticket to Bandung's prestigious Institute of Technology
\n(ITB). But academic recognition alone almost proved to be not
\nenough for the youngster to realize his dream of one day becoming
\nan eminent scholar or professional and thereby raising his
\nfamily's living standards.<\/p>\n
The institute's Rp 45 million (US$ 4,891) admission fee and Rp
\n1.7 million in fees per semester -- not to mention the daily
\nexpenses for food, board and transportation -- threatened to
\nprevent him from realizing his ambition.<\/p>\n
A similar fate awaited Ni Komang Darmiasty, of Buleleng, Bali,
\nwho also emerged a winner in last July's Brisbane Biology
\nOlympiad. Fortunately, the girl's parents were somewhat better
\noff than Mulyono's mother, who is a single parent. Her father is
\nemployed in Singaraja as a public school teacher. Admittedly, not
\nall of the young high school achievers who have in recent years
\nrepresented Indonesia in international science competitions have
\nfared so badly.<\/p>\n
As could be expected, a much better future awaits young
\nSeptinus George Saa, of the province of Papua, whose gold medal
\nvictory in the First Step to the Nobel Prize in Physics 2004
\ncompetition in Warsaw this year earned him a full scholarship
\nfrom the Sampoerna Foundation, which entitles him to further his
\nstudies at any institute of higher learning of his choice.<\/p>\n
Fortunately, for lower ranking bright achievers -- of whom
\nMulyono and Darmiasty are just two among many -- help could be in
\nsight in the form of year-long scholarships, which the government
\nis considering offering, as of this year, for the best performing
\nhigh school students each school year. According to Ministry of
\nNational Education Director General of Elementary and Secondary
\nEducation Indra Djati Sidi, the government is currently in the
\nprocess of working out a formula for the criteria and the budget
\nfor the program. This budget will cover the admission as well as
\ntuition fees and cost of living for the first year of study. The
\nstudents are further encouraged to seek scholarships on their own
\nto cover the expenses for the remaining years.<\/p>\n
In all this, one aspect that is interesting to note is that
\nmost of the country's top performing students who have gained
\nrecognition in international competitions have, so far, come from
\nregions far removed from the centers of commerce and government.
\nMost have come from underprivileged families. But while this may
\nbe reason enough to believe, or hope, that money and superior
\nfacilities do not necessarily guarantee success in learning, it
\nalso highlights a major problem that is facing educators in their
\nefforts to bring a greater degree of egalitarianism into
\neducation in Indonesia: the high cost of learning.<\/p>\n
This is especially true since the government granted full
\nautonomy to four of the country's most prestigious institutes of
\nhigher learning: the University of Indonesia in Jakarta, Gajah
\nMada University in Yogyakarta, the Bandung Institute of
\nTechnology (ITB) in Bandung, and the Bogor Institute of
\nAgriculture (IPB) in Bogor, West Java.<\/p>\n
Beginning this year, these institutes are charging anywhere
\nfrom Rp 5 million to Rp 45 million for new admissions, not
\nincluding the fees for each semester, amounts that are obviously
\nwell beyond what most Indonesian families can afford to pay. A
\nway must therefore be found to subsidize the brightest among
\nthose students who would otherwise be denied a proper education.<\/p>\n
The importance of finding a way out cannot be overstated. For
\na developing country such as Indonesia, the building of a pool of
\ncapable human resources, and hence education, is the key to
\nsustainable development. Yani Bayani, who is a teacher at
\nJakarta's prestigious SMU 8 senior high school, has an
\ninteresting story to tell. Universities in neighboring countries,
\nshe says, are regularly inviting the brightest among Indonesian
\nstudents to advance their studies in their countries. For
\nexample, 10 of her former students are currently studying at
\nSingapore's Nanyang Institute of Technology. Others have received
\nscholarships from companies in Japan. Obviously, the possibility
\nexists that they will stay in their employ for years, if not
\nforever, thereby depriving Indonesia of a valuable reservoir of
\ncompetent human resources.<\/p>\n
Sadly, Indonesia will not be able to provide enough money to
\nbuild, through education, its own pool of qualified human
\nresources for at least the next five years. Even with Rp 21.5
\ntrillion set aside for education in next year's state budget,
\nthat amount is far from the 20 percent mandated by the
\nConstitution. A way must therefore be found to mobilize every
\navailable sector to take part in the efforts -- now.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/scholarships-urgently-needed-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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