Human Resources are the Key to the Progress of Papua, These are Educational Innovations in Sorong

The government of Sorong Regency, West Papua does not only focus on infrastructure development. Human resource development (HR) is also a major focus for realizing future generations.

The Regent of Sorong, Johny Kamuru, said that the abundant natural resources in the form of fertile land, the high seas that store a variety of materials and biological wealth, lush jungle, and various mining products in the bowels of the mountains will only provide maximum benefits if processed by humans. superior who have knowledge, have expertise, and master technology.

"There is no other way to develop this land of Papua except by preparing human resources with education which will later fill and change the future of Papua with their experiences of science and innovation," he said, quoted from the book Johny Kamuru, Serving Leaders, written by Ayu Arman.

The cost of education from SD to SMP is borne by BOS funds. Meanwhile, for high school education, it is borne by West Papua Province. Not only school fees, uniforms and textbooks are also made free to all students.

To complement the free education program from the previous leadership, he said, his party has also facilitated school bus services since 2018. Currently, there are approximately 40 school buses. One unit of school bus was donated to the Catholic Foundation (Petrus van Diepen) and 39 buses were spread across several districts.

The number of school buses will continue to be added so that all students in all villages and districts do not have transportation problems to go back and forth to school. With school bus services like this, the dropout rate due to the lack of transportation facilities can be reduced.

The Regent hopes that this school bus service can increase children's enthusiasm for learning to go to school. There is no more reason for them not to go to school. The local government has provided free education and facilitated school supplies for the good and progress of the children and the people of Sorong Regency.

Not only that, Johny added, his party also sent Sorong's high-achieving children to school and study outside Papua and abroad through the secondary education affirmation (ADEM) and higher education affirmation (ADIK) programs.

The secondary education affirmation program is a program intended for junior and senior high school Papuan children to get school scholarships outside Papua, including in Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Bali and Bandung.

Meanwhile, the affirmation of higher education is that indigenous Papuan children receive scholarships to universities outside Papua. Children who get this scholarship take a rigorous selection test. Local governments do not just choose. So, children who graduated from high school in Sorong or children who took the ADEM program took the test to get college scholarships.

Currently, there are 176 students who are native to Sorong who receive higher education affirmation scholarship programs. They are spread across several universities in DKI Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Bali, Samarinda, Makassar, Manado, Aceh and Surabaya. The ADIK program is different from the scholarship program for Papuan children who study at Uncen and scholarships to study at Unipa Medicine.

Apart from the domestic scholarship program, Sorong Regency Government also sends students to study abroad. There are 12 best local boys who are currently studying in Australia. Three people, for example, received pilot education scholarships in Perth and 3 others joined the IDP program. Their studies were completed in 2021 and 2023. After that, these young talents and geniuses returned home to serve their homeland.

SOURCE: https://www.liputan6.com/regional/read/4517957/sdm-kunci-kemajuan-papua-ini-inovasi-inovasi-pend Pendidikan-di-sorong