VP PROMISES TO HELP IMPROVE EDUCATION QUALITY IN S KALIMANTAN

Banajarmasin, Jan 16 (ANTARA) - Vice President Boediono has said he would try to narrow the gap in the quality of education between South Kalimantan and other parts of the country such as Java by improving technological networks in the province.

"Compared with Java and other provinces in Indonesia, the quality of education in South Kalimantan in general is below standard and therefore continuous efforts should be made to improve it," the vice president said in a dialog with students and teachers of SMK 4 Banjarmasin on Saturday.

According to the vice president, one of the ways to narrow the gap was stepping up the quantity and quality of information and technology networks (IT) in the province.

If students in South Kalimantan, in Banjarmasin in particular, have mastered information technology through computer and internet networks, they would not find it difficult to catch up with students in other parts of the country because all information could be easily accessed through the internet, Boediono said.

Therefore, he said, the central government, in cooperation with the provincial administration, would make every possible effort to meet the need for computers at schools in Banjarmasin as soon as possible.

To help Banjarmasin school students catch up with their peers in other parts of the country, three banks, namely Bank BNI, Bank BRI, and Bank Mandiri, on the occasion distributed computer sets and savings to a number of schools in the city.

In the dialog, the vice president advised the students to
pursue achievements and honesty instead of positions in their careers after finishing their schooling.

"In principle, do not pursue position in your careers but achievements and honesty," the vice president said.

Boediono made the remark to respond to a question raised by Rasidah, an SMA I Banjarmasin student who idolized the vice president and asked what strategy one should adopt in order eventually to rise to the position of minister.

He also called on the students attending the dialog to have a strong determination to become somebody but never to aim for a certain position.

He said if students were ambitious and only pursued their careers to gain a certain position , they would be frustrated and disappointed if they failed to fulfill their ambition.