Government considering long-distance teaching

Government considering long-distance teaching

JAKARTA (JP): The government is studying the possibility of
introducing long-distance teaching, taking advantage of
satellite communication, to reach children who are currently
denied secondary education for lack of space.

Arief E. Sadiman of the Ministry of Education and Culture said
yesterday that there are currently 6.2 million children of
secondary school age who are not attending schools, either
because they could not be accommodated or because they live in
remote places where there are no schools.

Arief, the director of the ministry's Center for Communication
Technology, said that the government could only build 10,000 new
classes for junior high schools a year.

The government extended the compulsory education scheme by
three years in 1994 to cover the three years in junior high
schools as well as the first six years in primary schools, for
children aged between six and 15.

Arief said Indonesia is studying the correspondent school
concept that has been developed in Australia, and expanding it to
use satellite communication facilities.

Under the "distant learning" system, classes will be given
through television broadcast with the help of satellite, he said.

He said the government recognizes that the method involves the
use of costly equipment and that therefore its success hinges on
the availability of financial resources. (01)