Education need top priority: Hamzah

Antara, Madiun, East Java

Vice President Hamzah Haz has called on all parties to give priority to the education sector to help improve the development of human resources, which has been ignored over the last several years.

"In the past, the education sector was not considered an investment," he said at an informal meeting with members of the Darussalam Islamic Boarding School in Gontor, Ponorogo, East Java, on Sunday.

The Vice President also used the occasion to dedicate the school's mosque.

He further called on all governors, regents and mayors to also give priority to education, and if necessary to free elementary school pupils and junior high school students from paying tuition.

"Give priority to the education sector in the regions," he said, adding that education was formerly considered an expense.

Education has not been considered an investment with a multiplying effect on the future, he said.

He cited Japan as an example, saying that due to its good human resources, the country managed to climb quickly out of its misery after the United States bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.

He said in terms of education Indonesia ranked 102nd among 162 countries, one level below Vietnam and far below Malaysia, which is at the 58th position.

"In fact, many Malaysians used to study here. I am afraid if education does not get priority, Indonesians will only become spectators in the globalization era," he added.

The Vice President also expressed concern over the difficulty of improving education as Indonesia previously had a per capita income of US$1,000 before the economic crisis hit in 1997. At present, per capita income is between $400 and $600.

He also expressed concern over the rise in unemployment, which stands at 40 million, with school dropouts totaling six million to eight million. The number of those living below the poverty line has also increased from 25 million to 40 million.