Govt starts computer literacy program

Fadli, The Jakarta Post, Batam, Riau

The government launched here on Saturday a student computer literacy program aimed at introducing information technology to schools nationwide.

Called the One School One Computer Lab (OSOL), the program was opened by State Minister of Communications and Information Syamsul Mu'arif as part of Indonesia compliance with a United Nations declaration, which seeks to create a technology-based global communication society by 2015.

Indonesia has no choice but to improve its human resources to stay in touch with the rest of the world in terms of information technology, Syamsul said.

The country, he added, still lagged behind in communication technology, let alone information technology, as reflected by the fact that it only had between seven and eight million registered fixed telephone lines. Indonesia is home to over 214 million people, the world's fourth most populated country.

"Transfer of data remains a future goal, as many people here do not have telephones. Therefore, we will start with students and will introduce them to information technology as early as possible," Syamsul said.

Also attending the launch at the SMK I vocational high school in Batu Aji district was Minister of National Education Abdul Malik Fajar.

The national program has targeted Batam for its pilot project, with the support of American software giant Microsoft.

Syamsul said the program would involve all stakeholders in the education, finance, infrastructure and Internet service sectors. Both central and regional governments are to work together to provide each school with a computer laboratory and enable students to learn how to use computers in class.

Malik expressed hope that students could use the facilities provided in the computer labs to improve their literacy in information technology.

"I am sad to see computers functioning only as a typewriter or a play station. We know there are many more benefits to be had from a computer," Malik said.

Microsoft is supporting the program by providing discount software to prevent the use of pirated products. Each software program costs US$2.5 for the OSOL.

Batam Deputy Mayor Asman Abnur, representing the local administration, welcomed the national program and expected that eventually, there would be one computer for every student.

"I look to Singapore and the U.S., where students only bring their diskettes to school, as there are enough computers to go around. Hopefully, the same thing could happen here and in Indonesia," he said.