Education's turn

Education's turn

The government's policy of allocating more funds for the
education sector deserves to be welcomed. The economic crisis has
hit this sector hard since many elders can no longer afford to
send their children to school. So bad is the situation that many
Indonesians are speaking of the country's current young
generation as a lost generation. One consequence is that in the
future, when incomes will be determined by a person's level of
education, the disparity in incomes among the population will be
critical.

Many people compare Indonesia with South Korea with regard to
development. Viewed from various angles, Indonesia has a heavier
burden to carry and more complex problems to solve. South Korea,
however, is regarded the more successful. For certain, the factor
of the United States's presence, which is making the Korean
peninsula a base in fighting its battles with other major powers,
cannot be disregarded. Still, it cannot be denied that South
Korea has been able to make progress on its own steam.

The thing to note in evaluating this progress has made is that
the South Korean government pays great attention to education.
The majority of South Koreans are university graduates and many
of them take further studies to reach a doctor's degree.
Indonesia presents a bad example of development fueled by loans.
Let's hope that the current government's greater attention to the
education sector reflects a new understanding of the fact that
productivity and expertise are major factors to get development
moving.

-- Bisnis Indonesia, Jakarta