International meeting on education to be held here
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)