'Check schools before enrollment'

'Check schools before enrollment'

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Education and Culture Wardiman
Djojonegoro said yesterday that parents should check the quality
of schools overseas before enrolling their children.

Wardiman said the quality of overseas schools was not
necessarily better than local institutes of higher learning. "The
cost of overseas education can be five times as expensive as that
of local universities," he said, opening the International
Education Fair '97 at the Jakarta Convention Center.

He said overseas institutes offered good quality education, an
objective Indonesia was aiming for in the future.

"If we raise the standards of Indonesian higher education, our
country's students would not have to study in the United States,
Germany or Australia, and foreigners would come to study here,"
he said.

He added that Indonesian university students pursuing graduate
programs in Germany would have to adjust to different education
systems between the two countries.

Wardiman, who studied in Germany, hailed its high quality
education system which is offered free of charge.

In a press conference marking Germany's first participation at
the education fair, German Ambassador Heinrich Seemann said
Wednesday that ship building, aeronautical and electrical
engineering were popular fields of study among Indonesian
students.

According to Wardiman, a large number of people studying
abroad did not reflect a crisis in the local education system.
"The parents have the right to send their children abroad. That's
their choice," he said.

He added that the "Link and Match" program, initiated three
years ago, had improved quickly after adjustments in the
curriculum, teaching and learning methods were made
to prepare students for employment.

Twenty thousand companies are participating in the program by
hiring the students.

The international education fair, which will end Monday,
features more than 400 institutes of higher learning from
Indonesia, England, the Netherlands, the United States, Denmark
and Australia.

The annual fair, held for the sixth time, coincides with
National Education Day which falls on May 2. (01)