Banyumas officials go back to school

PURWOKERTO, Central Java: A senior regency official here has drawn attention to the fact that only 10 percent of the 4,366 officials working at the Banyumas administration have been educated beyond high school.

Regional Secretary Soediman said the low education level would be a drawback to the administration, especially when the new law on regional autonomy was in place. The law is expected to take effect in 2001.

"We realize our weakness. Nevertheless, it's not an easy task for us to add or reduce our staff. Everything still depends on the central government," Soediman said.

To overcome the education problem, he said that the regional administration and Jenderal Soedirman University had agreed on a joint program whereby 70 local officials could be sent to the university to enhance their skills.

In return, the university would receive full cooperation for any research involving the administration, he added. (45/02)