Home Affairs Minister Tito Encourages NTT Defence University Students to Broaden Career Options

Home Affairs Minister Muhammad Tito Karnavian has called on students of the ‘Ben Mboi’ Polytechnic, Defence University in East Nusa Tenggara, not to fixate solely on pursuing careers as civil servants, members of the Indonesian National Armed Forces, or the National Police. According to Tito, vocational education graduates actually have great opportunities to become entrepreneurs by leveraging Indonesia’s abundant natural resource potential. ‘I want to open your minds. This vocational training is important, the specialised skills taught here. But do not think of only one option, wanting to become a soldier, police officer, or civil servant,’ Tito said during a visit to the ‘Ben Mboi’ Polytechnic in Kakuluk Mesak District, Belu Regency, East Nusa Tenggara, on Saturday, 27 June 2026. Tito assessed that the ‘Ben Mboi’ Polytechnic is a model of vocational education that equips students with various skills, ranging from agriculture, plantations, capture fisheries, and marine aquaculture, to other sectors with significant development prospects. He believes this potential needs to be optimised by producing more business actors capable of processing Indonesia’s natural wealth to provide added value for the national economy. ‘Our country needs more entrepreneurs. Our country can become a G20 country. This means the G20, a group of 20 countries with the largest gross domestic product in the world,’ he stated. Tito further explained that Indonesia has the advantage of being a tropical and archipelagic country with fertile soil due to having more than 100 volcanoes. This condition is considered highly supportive for developing the agriculture and plantation sectors year-round. Additionally, Indonesia has abundant water resources through tens of thousands of river streams and thousands of lakes that are deemed not yet optimally utilised. ‘We have 50,000 river segments, meaning rivers with their branches. We have lakes, both natural and artificial. The number is also in the thousands, meaning our water sources are sufficient, but not yet maximally used. It is quite good for agriculture and plantations,’ he said. Tito then cited New Zealand as an example of a country that has managed to build public welfare through the agriculture, plantation, and livestock sectors. According to him, Indonesia has potential that is no less significant if managed optimally.