Nine nations discuss 'Education for All'

Nine nations discuss 'Education for All'

JAKARTA (JP): Education ministers and experts from nine of the
world's most populous nations began a meeting in Indonesia
yesterday to hammer out the concept of "Education For All" as a
way of eradicating illiteracy.

President Soeharto gave the keynote address at the three-day
meeting, which was opened at the State Palace in Jakarta and
which was also attended by UNESCO Director General Federico
Mayor.

After the opening ceremony, the delegates immediately
proceeded to the holiday island of Bali, where the conference
will be held until it closes on Saturday.

The conference is a follow up to the 1993 summit of the nine
most populous countries in the world in New Delhi, where the
leaders, including President Soeharto, endorsed the concept of
"Education For All" as crucial for the advancement of any nation.

The same nine countries are represented at the meeting in
Indonesia. They are Bangladesh, Brazil, China, India, Egypt,
Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan and host Indonesia. Together, they
represent more than half of the world's population.

The conference opening was timed to coincide with the
celebration to mark the 30th International Literacy Day and was
also used by President Soeharto to launch September as "Reading
Month" and "Visit the Library Month", which are part of the
government's efforts to encourage the Indonesian public to pick
up the habit of reading.

The conference will be chiefly used by delegates to share
their experiences and learn, with respect to the implementation
of the "Education For All" program in each country, Indonesia's
Minister of Education and Culture Wardiman Djojonegoro said at
the opening ceremony. "It is hoped that, in the future, there
will be improvement in cooperation between the nine countries, so
as to improve the future human quality of half of the world's
population," he said.

President Soeharto, in his keynote address, said that the
experiences of advanced countries have shown that national
development cannot be separated from the quality of its people
which, in turn, depended on their education level.

To implement "Education For All", he proposed the delegates
concentrate on two aspects: finding innovative approaches to
expand access to education, and improving the quality of
education.

He said the programs worked out under the concept would not
only benefit the nine countries taking part, but also the rest of
the world.

Indonesia, he explained to the delegates, has strived to
eliminate illiteracy, which still stood at six million people in
the 10-44 years age bracket at the last count two years ago.

The government now hopes to eliminate the illiteracy rate,
currently put at about 12 percent of the total population of
about 195 million, before the end of the century. (emb)