Papua. Students in Papua’s remotest regions will soon have access to higher-quality education through a new distance-learning program, Papua Governor Barnabas Suebu told the Jakarta Globe.
The program is sponsored by the Ministry of National Education in collaboration with Unesco. It will feature qualified teachers in other provinces remotely teaching Papuan students with the help of new technology.
Barnabas said the program is set to launch by November.
Papua suffers from an uneven distribution of educators, some of whose credentials are questionable, and a dearth of teachers in remote areas.
“At least 1,500 spots [where the distance-learning program will be implemented] have been identified across the province,” Barnabas said.
“We [eventually] aim to set up another 1,500. Each spot has its own radio and TV equipment. The program is called ‘Distance Learning For All,’ ”Barnabas said, adding that some 1,000 Papuans would be trained to maintain the equipment.
“These 1,000 facility officers will help Papuans to continue to use the facilities, which are known as community learning centers.
Teachers, students and community leaders will receive training from operators and technicians on how to use and maintain the facilities,” Barnabas said.
“With these facilities, we aim to get teachers in other provinces, including Jakarta, to give lessons to students in Papua.”
Barnabas pointed out that Papua is home to just 12,000 teachers, who are unevenly distributed throughout the province.
“Teachers are concentrated in big cities. They are reluctant to teach students in remote areas. However, we have tried to encourage more teachers to come to remote regions by providing them with higher salaries.
“We need to fight poverty and underdevelopment in Papua. This is our attempt to promote education through e-learning,” Barnabas said.
Education expert T Situmeang said Papua’s geography contributed to its educational woes.
“So many places are isolated,” he said. “Teachers initially stationed there find it hard to stay long in the area.”
Separately, elementary school teacher Sorta Sitorus from Jayapura told the Globe that government efforts to improve the quality of teachers had been ongoing for several years, but there had been no significant change.
“This [problem] cannot be separated from the lack of educational facilities in the province, including funding for school infrastructure and reference books for teachers,” Sorta said, adding that classes were often held in rickety, subpar buildings.
“We cannot even afford pencils,” Sorta said. “Many of my students have used a single writing book for years. The only new feature in our classrooms? Before we had blackboards. Now we have white boards.”
Simanullang, a teacher in 3 State Vocational School in Jayapura, shared Sorta’s sentiments.
“If we are not supplied with books, the educational system literally becomes paralyzed. I have had to photocopy curriculum books for students since nobody can afford to buy originals,” Simanullang said.
The veteran teacher added that he had been working in the same school for three decades.