Vocational schools, micro credit to be prioritized

JAKARTA: Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Agung Laksono said Friday he would prioritize improving the quality of vocational schools and increasing the disbursement of micro credit to reduce the unemployment rate.

He said he would coordinate with the national education minister to improve the quality of vocational schools in the country.

"The quality improvement is aimed at students' entrepreneurship skills. It will be our program to reduce the unemployment rate," he said after attending the National Summit, which discussed the government's plans for the next five years.

He added that he would provide training and education to teachers at the country's vocational school.

Indonesia has about 7,800 vocational schools with some 3.9 million students.

Agung said he would facilitate micro credit for small enterprises.

"The national budget has provided Rp 20 trillion (US$2.08 billion) for micro credit. As of now, Rp 16 trillion has already been disbursed," he said. - JP