Training helps improve education quality in remote parts of Papua

Nethy Dharma Somba ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jayapura   |  Wed, 10/15/2008 10:39 AM  |  The Archipelago

Teachers and students from Papua's remote regions will be supervised for six months by two institutions as part of a program designed to improve the quality of education in the province.

The program, run by World Vision in cooperation with the Surya Institute, will involve 75 teachers and 350 students.

The institute will train 15 teachers from Papua in its facility in Karawaci, Tangerang, in Banten province. These teachers are then each expected to train five other teachers in remote areas of Papua.

The institute is also looking for Papuan students to undergo further training.

The cooperation was forged in a memorandum of understanding signed by World Vision Indonesia national director, Trihadi Saptoadi, and Surya Institute chairman, Yohanes Surya, in Jakarta on Monday.

The program aims to produce smart students who are able to compete at the national and international levels, World Vision said in a press release.

"The condition of education in Papua, especially in remote and isolated mountainous areas, is very concerning," Trihadi said in the release.

The results of a 2007 study on the quality of basic education conducted by World Vision showed that the proportion of junior high school students dropping out had reached 65 percent, with 33 percent of female students stopping their education to get married.

The study also found that 86 percent of students completed elementary school and 61.2 percent finished junior high school.

"Limited numbers of qualified teachers, limited facilities and limited public awareness of the benefits of education are only some of the factors contributing to unqualified education in the province," Trihadi said.

"Therefore, we need proper solutions to overcome the education problems here."

World Vision also has been promoting its education program to regency administrations in Jayawijaya, Yahukimo and Tolikara in order to help the education development program in Papua succeed.

"We hope the program will benefit students and teachers and succeed in improving the quality of education, especially for those who live in remote areas," Trihadi said.

The Surya Institute is currently training Hendrik Medlama from Wamena, Papua, who won a silver medal at the 2008 Physics Olympiad.

Hendrik is now being prepared to participate in the Chemistry Olympiad to be held in South Korea in December.

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