Teachers told to focus on practical skills
JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Manpower Abdul Latief yesterday called on teachers to imbue students with entrepreneurial skills so that they will not be dependent on the public sector after finishing school.
Addressing the second day of the 17th congress of the All Indonesian Teachers Union (PGRI), Latief said a study conducted by the ministry found that most parents in the countryside want their children to become civil servants.
"It will not benefit the country in the long run because it's not productive. So teachers are being asked to cope with this problem by preparing better qualified people," the minister told the 11,000 participants.
Latief then mentioned a number of employment problems faced by the country which need to be taken into consideration, especially by teachers.
He said 75 percent of the people employed in the country are elementary school graduates at best. This means that most Indonesian workers are unskilled.
He added that an increasing number of educated people are jobless. Some 135,000 university graduates seek to join the work force annually, but only 45 percent of them can be employed in various sectors.
"Now many Indonesians are burdens to the nation. And what we want is for them to become national assets," Latief said.
Dealing with the employment and unemployment problems, vocational education and training are seen as stop-gap measures.
Latief said his ministry has cooperated with the Ministry of Education and Culture to provide more vocational education and training to those who cannot continue their studies.
Professionalism
Minister of Education and Culture Wardiman Djojonegoro urged the All Indonesian Teachers Union (PGRI) to improve the professionalism of its members.
"We need a system which incorporates realistic and feasible programs," Wardiman said when addressing the congress.
Teachers' professionalism is closely related to the quality of the students, he said, adding that positive output will result from a sound teaching-learning process.
The union should start formulating a standard that will enable teachers and students to teach and learn, respectively, more effectively, he said.
"The standard must also encourage teachers to make breakthroughs in teaching methods," he said. "The more time spent by both teachers and students in the teaching-learning process the greater the possibility that they will get better results," he said.
A quality teaching-learning process must also be followed up with a good evaluation system.
The union's other important "homework", Wardiman said, is that it should help the government find ways to improve the welfare of teachers.
Wardiman pointed out that the programs to be upgraded should include pre-service training, in-service training and professional standard evaluations.
Responding to teachers' complaints about inadequate salaries and the lack of incentives, he said the government would try to improve teachers' welfare.
"This is crucial for helping teachers improve their professionalism. They will not have time to enrich their knowledge if their incomes are not adequate to meet their basic needs," he said. (11/prs)