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)