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Optimism in fostering prosperity in Papua
When asked by colleagues of my impression from a recent trip to the United Kingdom with Cenderawasih University rector Apolo Safanpo, I have only one simple answer: I am optimistic about Papua’s future. #opinion
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Showing gratitude: Students and teachers celebrate the opening of the school's library, which was inaugurated on March 1. (JP/Nethy Dharma Somba)
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hen asked by colleagues of my impression from a recent trip to the United Kingdom with Cenderawasih University rector Apolo Safanpo, I have only one simple answer: I am optimistic about Papua’s future.
My opinion stems from my encounter with academics who took part in the 2019 Indonesian Scholars International Convention (ISIC) in Nottingham, England, on June 22. The discussion with participants of Lingkar Studi Papua (Papua Study Circle) — some of whom are Papuans — emboldened my optimism.
We share a similar positive attitude in approaching developmental challenges in the two provinces of Papua and West Papua. In the area of basic education for instance, we agreed that more work needed to be done.
The rough terrain in Papua makes it less opportune to operate high schools in the mountainous area. The ratio of aspiring students and the availability of teachers in a classroom setting makes it less appealing to open secondary and high schools there. Hence, opening up a boarding school at a district capital can mitigate such challenges.
In the context of tertiary education, Apolo shared his observation of the current state of teaching environments in Papua and West Papua. There is a need for infrastructure; hard infrastructure such as research facilities and soft infrastructure in the form of sufficient lecturers.
In the university Apolo led, the classroom ratio between lecturers and students is not ideal. For every 200 students, there is only one lecturer available to teach, whereas the ideal composition is one lecturer per 50 students for hard science and one per 30 students for social sciences.
These challenges do not weaken the resolve of young generations of Papuans to advance knowledge. More students from Papua are now studying in Java and Sulawesi. At the same time, the provincial governments are following a different strategy by sending Papuan students overseas to study. This approach is a reminder of then-research minister BJ Habibie’s strategy in the 1980s to leapfrog in technology advancement by sending students to Germany to study engineering. At that time, the government had set up several strategic industries, including the aviation sector. The new cadre of young professionals catered to the need to jumpstart the strategic industries.
