Indonesia urges to tackle education inequality

Illustrative photo (Photo: Antara)

Jakarta (VNA) - Lestari Moerdijat, Deputy Speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) of Indonesia, has underscored the need to provide equal access to education to improve welfare and justice for all.

Several problems in Indonesia's education system need to be resolved, including unequal access to education among urban and rural residents, she told the press on February 27.

The official cited data from Statistics Indonesia in 2022 which showed that the high school gross enrollment ratio (GER) in rural areas stood at 81.23% and 88.70% in urban areas. Meanwhile, GER in higher education was 23.05% and 37,13%, respectively.

Moerdijat expressed hope that the currently available scholarships will be awarded more equally and right on target to reduce inequality.

She also said that it is essential to address the causes of inequality, such as economic, social, and cultural differences.

Moerdijat underlined that stakeholders at the central and regional levels must play an active role in efforts to tackle the issue of unequal access to education. By doing so, access to higher education can become more equitable, thereby increasing the potential for the creation of human resources with higher quality and competitiveness, she added./.