It was saddening to read about a suicide attempt by an

It was saddening to read about a suicide attempt by an elementary schoolboy in East Java's provincial city of Surabaya last Saturday.

His reason for wanting to end his life may have seemed insignificant, but the negative impact on our education sector is immense.

Whatever argument we put forward, the boy tried to end his life on account of his parents' inability to pay his school fees for two consecutive months.

A similar case occurred in West Java, when another elementary schoolboy tried to commit suicide because he parents were unable to pay for extra-curricular activities.

These two incidents are just a glimpse of untold disheartening tales related to this country's educational system.

A milestone occurred on Monday for our country's education sector.

The government and the House of Representatives agreed to allocate one-fifth of the total state budget for the education sector.

The agreement indicates that the government and the people's representatives realize how important it is to improve the quality of education in Indonesia.

However, it is such a pity that the fund is only enough for our school children for the next five years.

We realize that insufficient government funds is one of the reasons behind the inferior quality of our education.

However, is the shortage of funds the only reason? Is the system of teaching and learning in our educational system appropriate?

Various systems have been tried out, and curriculums have been altered several times but our education has yet to yield a "ready-to-use" product.

Thus, the government and all related parties should be prudent and bold in seeking the best possible way to strengthen the foundation of our human resources development.

Without that, Indonesia will certainly be left behind by its neighboring countries, such as Malaysia.

-- Bisnis Indonesia, Jakarta