Govt education campaign shows signs of success: Juwono

JAKARTA (JP): High public awareness of the need for education has helped keep down the number of school dropouts according to government estimates, Minister of Education and Culture Juwono Sudarsono said on Wednesday.

This was one of a number of factors which Juwono said was helping to keep children in school, particularly between elementary and high school levels, despite worsening economic hardship.

"The strong will of children and parents has greatly helped the reduce dropout figures," Juwono said in a media conference on the compulsory nine-year basic education program.

The Ministry reported that the number of pupils and students who have dropped out of the education system has reached 2.5 million including university students, a number less than an earlier forecast.

In June, Juwono said he expected between 6.5 million and 8 million students from all levels to drop out of school because they would no longer be able to afford school fees.

On Wednesday he said that other factors which were helping students stay in school included the government ban on state schools charging fees other than those set by the government, the extension to the deadline for school registration, government subsidies to school operating costs and scholarship schemes.

Juwono said the government was also working to free students from poor families of school fees altogether.

However, teachers have said the government-set admission fees are unrealistic. It currently costs Rp 33,500 (US$3) to enroll in a junior high school.

The government campaign to promote school attendance may also have had a positive impact, Juwono said. The campaign includes the ongoing television public service message with the jingle Ayo Sekolah (Let's go to school).

The message, which is sponsored by the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef), features the popular actors Rano Karno and Mandra.

Juwono said that education should be given equal priority to efforts to obtain basic foodstuffs.

"Education is as important as basic needs. People's incomes are determined by their education," Juwono said.

On Wednesday the Ministry announced that it would give out scholarships to poor students of all ages to try to prevent more students from dropping out. The scholarships will be awarded in conjunction with the Coordinating Ministry for People's Welfare and Poverty Eradication.

Fifty-percent of the scholarships have been distributed across the country through the state run post office network, PT Pos Indonesia.

But unlike before, scholarships now prioritize those who cannot afford education instead of those with high grades.

"Before, scholarships were awarded to intelligent students, but now they are for the needy who want to be educated," Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare and Poverty Eradication Haryono Suyono said.

The government has pledged Rp 762 trillion for scholarships and Rp 375 trillion to support elementary, junior and senior high schools.

Another scholarship fund of Rp 174 trillion is to be given to university students, including postgraduates. Each scholarship will be worth Rp 720,000 a year.

Haryono said an improvement in the number of children receiving nine compulsory years of education had also been recorded. In 1994 the government made it mandatory for all children to receive six years of elementary education and three years of high school education.

Slight progress toward this goal was made in North Sumatra, Lampung, West Java, Central Java, West Kalimantan, East Timor, East Nusa Tenggara, North Sulawesi and Bali.

"The overall decline in numbers receiving the nine-year basic education has only been 2.3 percent since the crisis began," Haryono added. (01)