Achieving Primary Education - my point of view

“ I come from a city wrapped in a negative image due to violence and crime. But my generation is a positive one dedicated to changing this”

Indonesia, as a country that had been signed and retifed ICESCR or known as The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (multilateral treaty adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 16 December 1966, and in force from 3 January 1976) commits to work toward the granting of economic, social, and cultural rights (ESCR) to individuals, including labour rights and the right to health, the right to education, and the right to an adequate standard of living. And Indonesia also commit to achieve Millenium Development Goals. MDGs (Millennium Development Goals) is a joint commitment by International Coummunity to accelerate Human Development and Poverty Reduction among 189 UN Member States in 2000. One of the goal that is the main focus of my essay is Achieving Primary Universal Education, ensure all boys and girls in everywhere to be able to complete primary education in 2015.

Measure of achievement of this target in Indonesia use three indicators :

1.       Enrollment rate from primary school/madrasah (7-12 years)

2.       Enrollment rate junior highschool/madrasah tsanawiyah (13-15 years)

3.       Literacy rate of 15-24 years old

The Indonesian Government is committed to meet this target with the 9-years compulsory education program. This policy has been proved to improve access to primary education. According to World Gross National Index (GNI) in 2007, Indonesia has been cathegorized as the middle “income country”.That happens because the calculations based on total market value of goods and services produced by a country. Apparently, Indonesia was ranked 139 0f 209 countries . Recent data from the country’s Central Statistics Agency says there are about 30,2 millions poor Indonesians in 2011 ,based on the government’s official poverty line of 233,740 rupiah per capita per month, which is less than $28 dollars a month. Less than 0.83 dollar a day. So, can people live on $1 a day and (still) not considered as poor? Sadly, our government thinks so. Thepoverty line is determined by a complex function taking in what the poor spend on different kinds of food to reach 2,100 calories per day, as well as costs associated with dozens of non-food goods, including housing, clothing, education and health care.

Lucky me, and maybe all of you who read this, we living our life (hopefully) for the fullest. we could go to school without a hitch, making a long list about our dream, fight for our own glory and prosperity, and we do feel super proud of that. We’re being told about prestigious life style which is include high grades in world-class university, using involute sentences to public so we look inteligent. We’re being told that the most suitable living we could find is in Europe or America. But when we heard anything about our own country, we just beef about that. Even sometimes we gave charity to the poor only because we couldn’t stand their crying. We must start to ask ourself, Are we satisfied? Are we satisfied to the fact that more than 30 millions people in our country living under $1 a day? Million of children never taste the value of education. They didn’t dreamt about going to Japan nor South Korea to taking master degree, but only to wear those red-white primary school uniform. They wonder to have a nice book, new stationary, proper classroom that they saw in television. Or maybe they didn’t have the imagination yet the energy to think about this? Because life gives them a very limited number of choices to dream.

It’s not about we can or we cannot do something. The point is we have to. Some my ideas are : Urges that developed countries help developing countries which may have similar experiences, languages, cultures or other liaisons by partnerships on issues regarding development of primary education.

Design a curriculum that stimulates student’s interest, meets the practical knowledge needs, prepares graduates for higher education and is feasible: Provides expertise to help review curriculum of the core primary education courses to meet with the international standard for primary graduates or Supports with teaching material like textbooks by coordinating the publishers, NGOs as well as the book market, with the target countries.

Encouraging government bodies to take an active role in educating the public about Millennium goals. Or Emphasizes the importance of promoting decentralization of education. We can do it!

Education should led us to these three : courage, wisdom and also compassion. Because ever mind has their own perception, just be brave with differences. Think Globally, act Locally.