'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)