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or many years, our education system has produced notable scholars from top public institutions.

It is widely accepted that the best and brightest Indonesians gain admission to these schools, but what is your definition of the best and brightest?

Are they those individuals with the highest national exam or state university entrance test scores? Those with the highest intelligence quotient (IQ) scores?

The most important investment we can make as a country is in our people. Empowered citizens will naturally take better paths and education is one way to empower a person.

There are two sides to education in general '€” the academics and the non-academics. Without both, students are less equipped to make informed, thoughtful decisions and pursue their leadership ambitions. In Indonesia, character foundation has cost us a lot.

Corruption has become entrenched in this nation. Even top school graduates are complicit in these crimes. According to Transparency International, Indonesia'€™s corruption perception index saw it ranked 114 out of 177 in 2013. Its bribe payers index placed Indonesia 25 out of 28 in 2011.

According to Gallup, the country has experienced a different kind of corruption since the fall of Soeharto, where the decentralization of authority has given more power to local authorities and broadened the number of individuals seeking bribes.

The spread of this moral violation has even touched our youth. Transparency International reported that one out of three youths would cheat or pay a bribe to pass an exam.

I fear that one day a general acceptance of corruption will be established. This will be the point of no return for our country.

Most of the time, corruption is driven by greed, not by need. We have seen cases where the person accepting a bribe is already financially well off. People are able live humbly with their level of pay, but the temptation to live excessively in today'€™s world is pervasive.

McKinsey & Co. reported that about 5 million people enter the urban consumer class each year, roughly the size of Singapore'€™s population. Although domestic spending has catalyzed economic growth, it can serve as a double-edged sword. Uninformed spending habits can lead to hedonism and eventually the need to make more money at any cost.

Here, education can play a stronger role. We cannot rely on law enforcement alone to change this behavior. After all, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), police, Attorney General'€™s Office, Supreme Court and correctional institutes only bring justice to criminals for misconduct that has already taken place.

Education needs to spearhead the effort on the prevention front. We already have Pancasila, morality and religion taught in schools; so how else can we teach people not to be corrupt?

We need to show our children examples of corruption and what is considered unacceptable behavior. However, we cannot simply conduct teaching in classrooms. We must get our children involved in the community through outreach and volunteering that affects people and the environment.

When these children face the dilemma of accepting a bribe later in life, they are not going to remember the theories presented in a classroom. They will remember those people they volunteered for and the communal environment they worked to preserve. Community awareness reinforces one'€™s conscience and this is what we need to instill in our children.

We need an awareness-based education system that not only stresses academic records but also insists on students implementing their knowledge to solve practical, real-life problems. This will encourage students to be mindful of what is going on around them and to be proactively involved in constructive activities.

One way to incorporate awareness into the school system is through a reform of school selection criteria, particularly in college, which will inherently drive middle- and high-school teaching.

College selection should be based 80 percent on academic record and 20 percent on panel interview. Subjectivity is typically a concern in interview-based processes, hence the need for substantial scoring guidelines and a group of panelists where a majority will suffice.

The interview measurement points as are follows. First, a knowledge of current affairs; second, critical thinking ability, problem identification and problem solving; third, intrapersonal and public speaking ability; fourth, a review of activities performed to highlight and substantiate one'€™s commitment to the community through outreach and volunteering; and fifth, a passion in the intended course of study through specific research, profession shadowing, volunteering and internships.

This will help students get exposed to the particular field and ensure an informed decision.

Possessing a good conscience and moral compass might not come naturally to some, but it can be developed and sustained over time.

Building awareness seems like a daunting task, but what it truly needs is a one-step-at-a-time approach and a can-do attitude.

Are you ready, Indonesia?