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Ministry launches new website to deliver education services
As part of its commemoration of National Education Day, which falls on May 2, the National Education Ministry launched a new website Sunday to cater to the public, and especially for the needs of students
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s part of its commemoration of National Education Day, which falls on May 2, the National Education Ministry launched a new website Sunday to cater to the public, and especially for the needs of students.
The website, kemdiknas.go.id, aims to deliver services that previously would have taken more time for those needing them, Minister Muhammad Nuh said in Jakarta after the commemoration and launching event.
He cited the example of diploma authorization for students who wished to have their certificates, gained when they pursued education overseas, made applicable and recognized in Indonesia.
Some certificates gained overseas are not automatically recognized by the government, Nuh said.
“Usually, those who want to have their certificates authorized must come [to Jakarta]. If one lives in Semarang, one can imagine the cost. With the website, the services could be obtained through clicks,” he said.
Teachers and other educational workers could process their transfer from one workplace to another through the website, Nuh said.
He added that the website is also a response towards the Freedom of Information Law, which had just come into force last Saturday.
According to the Communications and Information Ministry, the number of Internet users in Indonesia reached around 28 million by May 2008.
The number rose significantly from 230,000 in 2000, but it is still small compared the country’s population of around 230 million.
“The community can obtain the information they need, including that of our budget of each directorate in the form of public information,” Nuh said.
A search within the website for the keywords “anggaran” or “budget” using The Jakarta Post’s computer revealed a section for “planning and budget”, but the section was lacking in content as of Sunday.
The website was also equipped with a “foreign student” section and a “study in Indonesia” section, but the language in those sections was in Indonesian, while other sub-sections, such as the “study permit” and “universities” remained empty.
In response to the declining number of students who succeeded in their first attempt at the national exams, Nuh said that the government, through regional authorities, might urge schools with smaller numbers of students and low pass marks to merge.
“In the future, the granting of permission for new schools will be more tightly supervised, so one cannot just open a school because they have a building,” he said.
The number of high school and Islamic high school students who passed the national exams this year decreased from last year’s 95.05 percent to 89.88 percent, with over 150,000 students obliged to take remedial tests.
During the website launching, the ministry also inked an agreement with PT Global Mediacom, a privately-run media group, to broadcast a channel which would air educational programs.
“What we are trying to support are programs on life skills, but there are also programs on primary and secondary education,” Nuh said.
The channel, called TV Citra Indonesia Terampil, which will be aired through a cable television provider, is aimed at reaching remote areas, after they are equipped with the necessary equipment such as television sets and decoders.
The event ended with the opening of a public reading space in a mall in South Jakarta.
