Indonesian students in Australia should continue studying

Indonesian students in Australia should continue studying

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Education and Culture Juwono
Sudarsono urged Indonesian students in Australia to continue
their studies and not to become distracted by the deteriorating
diplomatic relations between the two countries.

"Don't let the worsening relations between the two countries
as a result of the East Timor situation disturb your studies,"
Juwono said on Friday.

Australia is the second most popular destination for
Indonesians studying abroad after the United States.

The number of Indonesian students in Australia has nearly
tripled following the violent upheavals here in May 1998.

The Ministry of Education and Culture estimates there are now
some 20,000 Indonesians studying in Australia, compared to 8,000
in mid-1997.

Juwono said education and politics were two separate matters,
adding that if the Australian government evacuated its nationals
studying here, Indonesia would not follow suit.

Australian Embassy spokesman John Milne told The Jakarta Post
here on Friday that rumors of a pullout of Australian students in
Indonesia were untrue.

There are at least 60 Australians studying in Indonesia, most
at Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta and Muhammadiyah
University in Malang, East Java.

The supervisor of Australian students in Yogyakarta, who is
also a lecturer from Murdoch University in Australia, David
Reeves, confirmed that none of the Australian students had left
Indonesia due to the diplomatic crisis and that there were no
immediate plans for an evacuation.

"So far, none of my students intend to quit their studies in
Yogyakarta," he said.

Reeves also said that in November another group of around 50
Australian students was expected to arrive in Indonesia.

"The rector of Gadjah Mada guaranteed that nothing bad would
happen in Yogyakarta and we believed him," he told the Post.

However, we were asked to keep a low profile, he added. (04)