International meeting on education to be held here

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia will host the second meeting of the Education for All Summit next week, which will be participated in by nine most-populated developing countries.

The five-day meeting, which will be participated in by China, India, Brazil, Mexico, Nigeria, Egypt, Bangladesh, Pakistan and host Indonesia will be opened by President Soeharto at the State Palace on Sept. 14, the director general of non-formal education, youth and sports of the ministry of education and culture, Soedijarto, told reporters yesterday.

He said the summit will take place in Nusa Dua, Bali. The first summit took place in New Delhi, in December 1993, which was attended by the Indonesian head of state.

According to Soedijarto, next week's meeting will review the 1993 New Delhi Declaration, and exchange experiences of each participating country.

It will also discuss innovative and non-traditional approaches to extend the access of education for all and to improve the quality of basic education, he added.

According to UNESCO's data of 1993, Indonesia is one of the most populated, developing countries with a high literacy rate (77 percent) after Mexico and Brazil. Bangladesh and Pakistan are the lowest among them with 35 percent each.

Soedijarto said Indonesia hoped that by 1998 there will be no more illiterate people here.

He disclosed that the government has started an ambitious anti-illiteracy campaign for people between 10 and 44 years of age. Soedijarto said the program was kicked off in Aceh in July.

UNESCO has decided that Sept. 8 is International Literacy Day and the international agency has asked its member countries, specifically the least-developed and developing ones, to commemorate it.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, 17.3 million Indonesians, or 12.75 percent of the population, were still illiterate as of 1994, Soedijarto said.

He said the present anti-illiteracy campaign is supported by the Armed Forces, especially in remote areas.

Soedijarto expressed the hope that the military will motivate and mobilize the people to take part in the program.

"I'm sure that even without the military, the campaign will be successful but we need them to boost participants' discipline," he said.

He said that in the early stages of the campaign the people are reluctant to take part but after being encouraged by the Armed Forces, who use friendly persuasion, local residents are be more active.

About 4,050 members of the Armed Forces, who have been trained as volunteer tutors, are taking part in the program, he said.

They are working together with 33,000 tutors from the ministry of education and culture.

The program also caters to elementary school drop-outs, villagers, street children and the homeless, he said.

"None of Indonesian 27 provinces is free from illiteracy, not even Jakarta," he said.

He added that about 170,000 illiterate people are now living in the capital city.

Soedijarto said this year about one million people throughout the country will join the 150-hour study program of the six-month campaign.

Each course has classes two hours long, three times a week, for six months, he said.

He said the committee has made special a program for the homeless and street children, so that the campaign will not affect their daily activities.

"We hope that by 1998 about 5.7 million people will be able to read and write," Soedijarto said.

After the campaign the participants will be provided with books, particularly concerning their business activities, which are available at nearby libraries, he said.

The purpose is to check their reading habits. "If they just give up reading after finishing the program, it will be useless," he added.

He said that the government has provided Rp 15 billion (US$ 6.7 million) to finance the program.

"Non-governmental organizations who are interested in helping the government to make the campaign a success are welcomed," he said.(05)