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n the 1950s, Africa and Asia faced almost similar situations; they were both poor, isolated and marginalized. However, Asia allocated more investment toward human capital. Nowadays, we can see how Asia has been able to take a leap forward and earn a greater share in the economic pie.

So, here is the key to growth: human capital. To be more specifi c, the secret recipe is education. A city state and modern country like Singapore has been able to attract the best talent to become teachers at its public schools. The proverb “Those who can, do; those who can’t, teach” does not literally apply in Singapore’s case. There is a rigorous selection process and not all who apply can get jobs in teaching there.

When can Indonesia improve the quality of its human capital and ensure there are equal opportunities for all of its citizens to enjoy the best education system? Building more schools and increasing teachers’ salaries alone should not be taken as a panacea. The government of Indonesia needs to learn from advanced countries how to attract the best minds to be the ones responsible for molding the next generation.

This does not mean we do not have great teachers at the moment — we do. However, their numbers are not enough to serve all children in their schooling years, and such teachers are largely concentrated in big cities.

Maybe it is time for members of parliament (MPs) to reform incentives paid to teachers. Yes, they should be paid decent salaries so they can afford a decent life. In addition, the government should make genuine attempts to invest in teachers’ career development through life-long training. This would help them keep their skills updated with technological changes in a more globalized world.

Singapore has a National Institute of Education, a one-stop training center for all teachers before they are posted to respected schools. The President, I believe, has the capability to set up a team to speed up the adoption of a system from a successful neighboring country such as Singapore. Besides, if the MPs really care and are willing to do what is best for Indonesia, they should allocate more budget toward study trips to Singapore so they can learn how they can form and implement their education policies instead of spending billions of rupiah on unnecessary trips to South Africa, South Korea and Japan to investigate the boy scout movement.

A Singaporean girl who I know, the brightest student in her economics cohort and a recipient of the Lee Kuan Yew Gold Medal — a prestigious award for the valedictorian — decided to be a teacher and Singapore’s Ministry of Education posted her to the leading secondary school in the country.

I would be ecstatic to hear a similar story happening in Indonesia.