Indonesian Parents Work Extra Hard To Fund Children Through University

By Bustanuddin Jalaluddin JAKARTA, May 2 (Bernama) -- Ar-Raudah, the youngest daughter of Rasyidin, was awarded a Bachelor's degree at a West Java provincial state university in Bandung last week after completing her studies, sponsored by her own father. If not for her father, an employee at a garment factory in a small-scale industry who had to work extra hard to save money to finance her education, she might not have got the opportunity to earn the degree. Realising this fact, Ar-Raudah also put extra effort in her studies to accomplish her degree and make her father proud of her achievement. With higher education being so expensive in Indonesia, no study loans provided by the government and a limited number of scholarships, it is not uncommon for parents like Rasyidin, to sacrifice their own money for their children's education in this country of 237 million people. Some others, like farmers in Sumatra, are even forced to sell their cattle to get the money for the university fees for their children. A limited number of Indonesian students get scholarships, either from the various government bodies like the ministry of education and culture, provincial governments or state enterprises. The central government, for example, is now giving emphasis on scholarships to outstanding students coming from poor families to pursue higher education. As what deputy minister for education and culture, Prof Musliar Kasim, said recently in Mataram, the capital of West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) province, outstanding students from poor families deserved to get scholarships to further their studies in universities. "There is no reason for the outstanding students from poor families not to study in the universities," he said. Musliar said the government, through the Directorate General of Higher Education, was now implementing the so-called "Bidik Misi" scholarships for students who scored good grades in their studies. Under this type of scholarship, each student will receive US$65.2 (Rp600,000) per month or Rp2.4 million per semester. In 2012, a total of 30,000 students will receive the Bidik Misi scholarship in state universities. Deserving students for the Bidik Misi scholarships should be 21 years of age or less and the gross income of their parents should not be more than Rp3 million per month. Meanwhile, scholarships from the provincial government are even limited in number for deserving students. For example, Gorontalo Governor Rusli Habibie recently said that the Education Service of Gorontalo will select 10 students from high schools, Islamic high schools and vocational schools to receive such scholarships to pursue studies in institutions of higher learning. Habibie said this year's top 10 students should prepare themselves to enter colleges in Germany as the purpose of the scholarship was to produce more scientists in Gorontalo. The people of Gorontalo, he said, have yet to hold any important position or gain expertise in companies operating in Gorontalo, a province neighbouring North Sulawesi. "It is very disappointing that local people become employees at lower levels, such as in security or cleaning services, instead of holding important positions in their own region," he said. The governor hopes to change the situation by creating more professionals of Gorontalo origin. According to Habibie, Germany was chosen because of the high quality of education there and the availability of several scholarships for Indonesian students. These German scholarships would be of additional help to the funds provided by the Gorontalo provincial government, he said. Habibie hopes that after completing their studies in Germany, these students will return home to help the government in developing Gorontalo. Students in Indonesia also get scholarships from other countries, like from the Japanese government, which is offering 140 scholarships to Indonesian students to study in Japan during the 2012 academic year. Students selected include those from three universities, namely Surakarta Sebelas Maret University (UNS), Slamet Riyadi University (Unisri) and Surakarta Muhammadiyah University (UMS), all in Central Java, said the Japanese Ambassador to Indonesia, Yoshinori Katori. (US$1 = Rp9,195.00) -- BERNAMA