Minister Wardiman defends link-and-match concept

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Education and Culture Wardiman Djojonegoro has defended the "Link and Match" concept which several experts have criticized for failing to link education to the industrial sector's needs.

On Saturday he told a seminar on teaching in Surabaya the facts presented a different picture.

The fact that many vocational school graduates could not find jobs did not prove the concept was a failure, he said.

The labor market simply cannot absorb all technical school graduates, now numbering between 1 and 1.5 million, he said.

The concept, launched in 1993, sought to gear the education system toward producing school graduates who were more ready to meet the industrial sector's needs.

It is applied mainly to technical schools by incorporating industrial training into the curriculum.

Wardiman said the government had enlisted 20,000 companies which took on students for training. The number of companies is expected to rise to 30,000 next year.

The government is working to improve the incentive package offered to companies which join the scheme, he said.

The benefits of combining school and work have been immense, students learn not only theories but get work skills, he said.

Students also acquire a work ethic, he said. (emb)