National education committees formed

JAKARTA (JP): The Ministry of National Education has set up two committees to review and revise a number of regulations and laws concerning the educational arena.

"The Committee for Education Reform will work on the nuts and bolts issues while the Committee for National Education will work on the philosophical basis involved as well as the concepts and strategies to be applied," Minister Yahya Muhaimin said.

The two committees will work on several strategic issues and prepare drafts of revised regulations, as well as adding more meat to the bones of such issues as the role of the private sector in education, campus autonomy, globalization, transparency and decentralization.

"The National Education Committee is being initiated by the World Bank and will be participated in by all the stakeholders while the reform team will consist of young observers of educational affairs," he said.

"Both teams will also work with the existing National Education Advisory Board (BPPN) which consists of senior education experts and has been working for many years," Yahya added.

Later in the day, Minister Yahya installed Atwi Suparman as the new Open University (UT) rector replacing Bambang Sutjiatmo at the University's campus in Pondok Cabe, South Jakarta.

The university has recently been hit by a series of diploma forgeries in which its awards have been forged by certain parties.

"There are reports of 24 false diplomas issued by schools which claimed to be UT branches last year," UT deputy rector Subagyo said after the ceremony.(edt)