Overcoming threats to Indonesia's future prosperity

Overcoming threats to Indonesia's future prosperity

By Stephen J. Woodhouse

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia needs to recognize and deal
effectively with a number of external and internal threats to its
long term development and prosperity.

Whilst the internet revolution has produced a significant
increase in global prosperity, it has also exacerbated the
already rapidly growing gap between the "haves" and the "have
nots", between those "in the know" and those who "don't know".

Literacy in English and in computers increasingly represents a
minimum passport to individual, family, community and national
prosperity. However, thus far the percent of Indonesian teenagers
who possess this minimum passport is frighteningly small in
comparison to the percent in most of its neighboring countries.

It will be a national tragedy indeed a deeply dangerous loss
if millions of intelligent creative young Indonesians are unable
to compete in the domestic and global marketplace due to a lack
of English and computer skills. High educational attainment must
be achieved through high intelligence and not by high income.

Currently Indonesia allocates between 8 and 9 percent of
government expenditure on the education sector compared with the
16-22 percent spent by its closest neighbors Malaysia, Singapore,
Philippines and Thailand. Clearly money alone is not enough. It
has to be spent wisely.

Teachers' salaries are far too low and a major increase in
basic pay is indispensable to improving teacher morale and
performance. However, morale, motivation and performance can also
be (highly) cost-effectively increased if performance-related
bonuses are to be introduced, for instance as a reward for a drop
out free community or basic learning achievement. Similarly,
sanctions for poor performance are required.

Much greater decentralization of decision making is also
necessary so that headmistresses and headmasters have a greater
say on what goes on in their schools. Parent Teacher Associations
and other local community mechanism for "bottom-up" support and
supervision need to be strengthened and teaching staff must be
provided with adequate teaching aids and equipment to do their
jobs.

The national curriculum is overloaded and also need to be
revamped. In-service teacher training has to be expanded. Whilst
all of this will greatly help Indonesia's school system to be
"ready for children", the children, sadly, are not "ready for
school". According to genetic potential, all six year old
entering primary school should be scoring, an average, 100 IQ
points, but the actual figure is 10 percent lower.

Malnutrition amongst pregnant women means that one in five
Indonesian babies enter the world with a low birth weight
resulting in reduced IQ in later life as well as a vastly
increased risk of incurring (expensive) ill health.

The intelligent quotient of more than one in three children is
further reduced owing to protein energy deficiency during the
critical high brain growth period of 0-2 years. In addition, 60
percent of Indonesia's primary school age children suffer from
iron deficiency anemia that reduces their concentration capacity
in school. The prevalence of diarrhea -- 33 million cases amongst
under five's alone every year (in Indonesia) -- also damages
physical health and exacerbates malnutrition.

The prevention of these problems is fairly simple and not very
costly. It involves promoting behavioral change, such as reducing
husbands smoking during their wives' pregnancy thus releasing
more money for improved nutrition. It involves boosting
sanitation and hygiene -- a labor intensive operation suitable
for Indonesia's large unemployed labor force. It involves
revitalizing the Posyandu (community health clinic) system to
enable early prevention and diagnosis of the problems I've just
mentioned.

Above all, it requires more money -- not a lot but at least
double the pitifully small current allocation to the health
sector.

We don't expect all Indonesia's children to become computer
wizards, but all the above would cause massive improvements in
productivity for all pupils and students irrespective of their
future jobs.

It is an investment that Indonesia's next government cannot
afford not to make.

The writer is area representative UNICEF Indonesia and
Malaysia.