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Indonesian education needs speedy transformation: Nadiem
"Our education patterns have not changed much in the past 20 years. This transformation is an evolutionary process and needs to be accelerated," Nadiem said.
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Gojek's Nadiem Makarim visited the State Palace in Jakarta on Oct 21, 2019. (JP/Seto Wardhana)
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mid the hopes and criticisms expressed following his appointment, Nadiem Anwar Makarim, the new education and culture minister, is aiming to bring innovation and a breath of fresh air to Indonesia’s education system, stressing the need to redefine education so that it fits with the country’s goal to possess excellent human resources capable of bolstering development.
The Harvard Business School graduate was tasked by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo with producing ready-to-work graduates amid a yawning skills gap that has led to unemployment, even among the country’s millions of vocational school and university graduates.
Many take confidence from the 35-year-old's track-record of innovation, with the app he created, Gojek, attracting 155 million users across five countries in Southeast Asia. Since its creation, the app has grown from a ride-hailing service into an on-demand app that offers users a wide range of services.
Others, however, question his ability to oversee education in Indonesia, home to more than 50 million students and 1 million teachers, particularly as the minister spent the majority of his later schooling years abroad.
In response to skepticism about his familiarity with Indonesia's education system, Nadiem appeared to acknowledge the complexity of educational affairs in Indonesia during an exclusive interview with Kompas published on Thursday, going as far as describing education as the most complex matter in the country.
"I will be honest if there's a possibility for success or failure. Everything we do has a chance to be successful or not, but if we don’t try first and step forward, then we will only stay still," he said, as quoted by Kompas.
During the interview, Nadiem laid out what he believed to be the fundamental problem plaguing Indonesia’s education system, namely its inability to provide students with the competencies, soft skills and character traits most sought by employers.
