DPR Member Motivates Students at SMA Negeri 1 Mimika on Education

Yan Permenas Mandenas, a member of Commission XIII of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI), provided guidance and educational motivation to students of SMA Negeri 1 Mimika in Timika, Mimika Regency, Central Papua. Speaking in Timika on Saturday, Mandenas stated that education is crucial for advancing a region, and therefore students currently in high school must prepare themselves by studying diligently. This preparation, he noted, will enable them to compete with students from other regions when entering higher education. “I am providing motivation to the students of SMA Negeri 1 Mimika so that they continue to have a fighting spirit, not only during their studies but also when they advance to higher education and enter the workforce,” he said after the event, which was part of a socialisation programme for Pancasila virtue volunteers organised by the Pancasila Ideology Development Agency (BPIP). In the current era of globalisation, he stressed that mastering foreign languages such as English is vital for pursuing education or working abroad. As a legislator from Papua, he is striving to encourage scholarship cooperation between the Papua government and international institutions, aiming to send Papuan scholarship recipients to study overseas every year. Mandenas also called on students to be brave enough to leave the region to continue their education after graduating from high school. “Show that you leave to learn and return to your region not as a problem maker, but as a solution provider for the dynamics and complexities of development and welfare issues experienced by the community,” he said. Hundreds of SMA Negeri 1 Mimika students and teachers attended the socialisation event at the school hall, where they also conveyed their educational aspirations to the legislator.