Govt launches partnership program for high schools

Govt launches partnership program for high schools

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The government has launched a revamp of a partnership program
between senior high schools in an endeavor to improve the quality
of education and bridge the widening gap in standards between
Java and the rest of the country.

Speaking at a ceremony on Tuesday, Minister for National
Education Bambang Sudibyo said the need for the program was
urgent.

"The partnership program will first target school principals
because they and teaching staff play vital roles as managers,
motivators and educators in running educational institutions and
producing good graduates," Bambang said.

Frequent developments in education policy at regional,
national and international levels could cause schools problems
but also provided them with opportunities, he said.

"These rapid changes have demanded certain skills in revising
education management and designing strategic and comprehensive
planning," he said.

Concrete measures were needed to improve education quality and
to ensure an even spread of standards across the country,
otherwise Indonesia would not be able to compete with other
countries at the Southeast Asian and world levels.

The minister explained that under the program, scheduled to
start in June, all directors of senior high schools and
vocational institutions from the designated "least-developed"
regions of Sumatra, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Nusa Tenggara and Papua
will be encouraged to learn from their partner schools in Java
about how to manage schools and teaching staff.

"Besides having orientation programs in their partner schools
in Java, school directors from the disadvantaged regions will
also undergo job training to improve their competence in school
management," he said.

The partnership will be multifaceted, with an orientation
program, on-the-job training, workshops, setting benchmarks,
planning and final evaluation stages.

The program, which is a development of an existing program,
known as the "east-west partnership", involves an exchange of
ideas and experiences among partner schools.

Last year, Timika, Papua's State Senior High-School 1 (SMAN 1)
principal Adnan Wasaraka spent a few months at a school in
Malang, East Java, to observe the teaching process there and
returned to Papua to implement what he had learned during his
orientation.

Several teaching staff from Malang also went to Papua to
exchange ideas with their colleagues and share their experiences
on how to effectively teach and motivate students.

The government has also developed partnerships with the
private sector to provide scholarships for talented students from
poor families in rural areas.

Sampoerna and Raja Garuda Mas are two of a range of major
companies that annually award scholarships to talented students.

Also attending the ceremony were Coordinating Minister for
People's Welfare Alwi Shihab and State Minister for the
Accelerated Development of Disadvantaged Regions Syaifullah
Yusuf.

'Developing' Provinces
1. Papua

2. West Irian Jaya

3. Maluku

4. North Maluku

5. North Sulawesi

6. Central Sulawesi

7. South Sulawesi

8. Southeast Sulawesi

9. Gorontalo

10. East Nusa Tenggara

11. West Nusa Tenggara

12. West Kalimantan

13. Central Kalimantan

14. North Sumatra

15. West Sumatra

16. South Sumatra

17. Bengkulu

'Developed Provinces':
1. Jakarta

2. West Java

3. Central Java

4. East Java

5. Yogyakarta

Sources: The Education Ministry