Letter: A lesson learned from Malaysia

When I was in Malaysia, my Malay teacher used to tell us that back in the 1960s, the Indonesian education system was the best among the ASEAN countries. Many Malaysian teachers were sent to study there. Now, the situation is different. Many Indonesians go to Malaysia to pursue their degrees. As Malaysia is building an education city, where the international campuses of foreign universities will be opened, I believe more and more Indonesians will go to study in Malaysia. And the trend is growing.

We need to rejuvenate our education system in order to reduce the number of Indonesians studying abroad. The education budget should be increased and the facilities should be improved so students can have better conditions in which to study.

In terms of choosing what to study, we don’t have to force our children to study everything, as they will end up focusing on the one thing that interests them the most. Give them the freedom to choose what to learn in life. But, parents have to monitor them so they will stay on the right track.

Christopher
Bandung