Armed Forces to take part in fight against illiteracy

Armed Forces to take part in fight against illiteracy

JAKARTA (JP): The government has enlisted the Armed Forces
(ABRI) in its campaign to wipe out illiteracy in the country.

But make no mistake. The military will not use force to compel
people to study. Rather, the anti-illiteracy campaign will be
incorporated with ABRI's highly successful civic programs known
as ABRI Masuk Desa (ABRI enters villages), or AMD for short.

ABRI Chief Gen. Feisal Tanjung pledged the commitment of his
troopers when he signed the agreement with Minister of Education
and Culture Wardiman Djojonegoro at his office.

Also putting their signatures to the agreement were
representatives of Minister of Religious Affairs Tarmizi Taher,
who pledged the involvement of religious leaders, and Minister of
Home Affairs Moch. Yogie S.M., who is contributing the local
government officials to the program.

The government hopes to completely wipe out illiteracy among
people in the 10-44 years age bracket by the end of the current
Sixth Five-Year Development Plan in 1999. According to a 1990
census, some 21.5 million, or 12 percent, of Indonesian
population are illiterate.

Gen. Feisal said at the signing ceremony that the agreement
formalized what his troopers have been doing all this time
through the AMD program. He said the troopers have already been
teaching villagers the alphabet, numbers and some basics.

The AMD, first launched in 1980, is now carried out three
times a year.

Feisal acknowledged that the program's effectiveness has been
limited, largely because of the limited time allowed to carry out
the various ambitious projects and also a lack of follow up.

He welcomed the offer of ABRI to join in the anti-illiteracy
campaign but pointed out the need for sound preparation and good
coordination, including preparing the teaching material and
organizing crash courses for field instructors.

Secretary General of the Ministry of Home Affairs Suryatna
Soebrata said the involvement of local government officials in
villages and elsewhere is crucial.

"This is a breakthrough for solving problems which often arise
due to lack of physical facilities... This project reflects
flexibility and effectivity without disrupting the already
existing mechanisms," he said.

ABRI members are expected to join hands with local officials
and community leaders in carrying out the program, he added.

Secretary General of the Ministry of Religious Affairs Zarkowi
Sujuti said his office would encourage religious leaders to
participate in motivating people to learn the basic skills of
reading, writing and arithmetic.

The government is tackling the illiteracy problem on two
levels: One through the compulsory education plan for children
between the ages of six and 15 years, and another through the
special projects that are destined for adults and high school
drop outs.

Director General for Informal Education at the Ministry of
Education and Culture, Soedijarto, said that for the special
project,the government has allocated a budget of Rp 1.5 billion
($688,000) for the current 1994/95 fiscal year.

This amount is sufficient to free some 1.1 million people from
illiteracy, he said, adding that over the next five years, the
program should cover some 5.7 million illiterate people.

Although the largest number of illiterate people is found in
Java, the largest percentage is found in Irian Jaya and East
Timor, he said. (pwn)