Expanded compulsory education begins

Expanded compulsory education begins

JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto launched yesterday the new
compulsory education program whose success depends on the
participation of private schools in providing the facilities and
parents in encouraging their children to go to school.

The program calls for all children between seven and 15 years
old to attend school for nine years, comprising six years of
primary education and three years of intermediate education.

The scheme is an extension of the highly successful six-year
compulsory education that was launched exactly 10 years ago with
94 percent of all children between seven and 12 years old
attending school.

Officials admitted that the government was ill prepared for
the expanded compulsory education program, citing the statistic
that some six million children between 13 and 15 years of age
could not be accommodated at present because of shortages in
seats at the country's junior high schools.

This fact was widely acknowledged in the speeches by President
Soeharto and Minister of Education and Culture Wardiman
Djojonegoro yesterday during the launching of the new scheme at
the Jakarta Hilton Convention Center which coincided with the
National Education Day.

Both men called for a national movement to ensure its success.

"The general public, but especially parents, must share in
this task," Soeharto said in a speech broadcast nationwide.
"Through mutual help and with the greatest sense of
responsibility, let's carry out this noble and huge task
together."

An even bigger challenge for the government is changing
people's attitudes, especially those living in rural areas where
many parents still shun school and prefer to send their children
to work in farms to help supplement their incomes.

The universal education program also waives school fees at
both government and privately run junior high schools although in
practice the schools' administrators could still charge the
better off parents.

15-year deadline

Wardiman said the government has set itself a 15-year deadline
to meet its target but stressed that with the help of the private
education institutions in providing the school buildings and
other facilities, this goal could be achieved within 10 years.

Soeharto explained the expanded compulsory education scheme
was part of the current national endeavor to strengthen the
manpower resources of Indonesia.

Official statistics show that some 76 percent of the present
total workforce have only a primary education background.

The scheme is also good for the flourishing democracy in the
country, he said. "The higher education background will
strengthen people's awareness of their rights and duties as
citizens. This means strengthening the political awareness of the
people and improve the quality of our democracy."

During the ceremony yesterday, the President signed a plaque
marking the start of the nine-year compulsory education program.

He also held a satellite interview with officials and school
children in Banda Aceh (capital of Aceh), Ujungpandang (South
Sulawesi) and Jayapura (Irian Jaya) to discuss about the problems
and challenges in implementing the scheme.

Officials in these three provinces said that administratively
they were prepared to carry out their task but much depends on
their ability to build enough new schools and provide books.

Soeharto said the problem could be overcome by introducing two
shifts for each available school buildings.

Irian Jaya Governor Jacob Pattipi said the major cities in his
province are ready but there were problems in remote hinterland
villages.

South Sulawesi Governor Z.B. Palaguna raised the perennial
problem of the low teachers' salaries as one of the major
drawbacks in implementing the nine-year compulsory school.

Soeharto responded that the government was doing all it could
to raise the teachers' salaries.

A member of House of Representative, Sukowaluyo, told
reporters after the ceremony that the issue of salary was
important if the nation expects to have a good education system.

"At least it must be increased twice from what they earned
today. The bright people are shunning the teachers' profession
because of the low salaries," Sukowaluyo said.

Wardiman said some provinces were better prepared than others
in implementing the new program.

The education facilities in Yogyakarta, for example, could
already accommodated up to 85 percent of all junior-high school
age children and therefore it should take less than 10 years to
meet the goal, he said. (01)

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