Bishop Belo happy with education in East Timor

Bishop Belo happy with education in East Timor

JAKARTA (JP): Dili Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo said East
Timorese have to admit that the Indonesian government has outdone
itself by providing them with the best educational facilities.

Antara quoted Belo in East Timor's capital of Dili as citing
on Wednesday the Dili Vocational School as an example of a good
school with qualified teachers and adequate facilities. He spoke
to the news agency after presiding in a ceremony to bless a new
building of the school.

He called on East Timorese students to make the best use of
the expensive building "in accordance with the aim of Indonesian
development, namely developing well-rounded, accomplished human
beings in East Timor".

"We need 'development people' with intellectual and moral
qualifications that will prepare them for the third millennium
which will be marked with challenges and hope," Belo said.

In his speech, Belo also spoke about discipline, reminding
both teachers and students that good school facilities alone do
not produce quality East Timorese. Discipline and the willingness
to apply oneself to one's studies are also needed, he said.

He criticized local institutions, including the church, for
poor time discipline. "We use 'rubber time' and procrastinate,"
he said.

"People who use 'rubber time' are not ready to enter the third
millennium where scientific and technological acceleration
demands that people always be ready," he said.

"How are we going to enter the 21st century with such human
resources?" Belo said, recounting of his experience meeting a
truant student. (swe)