International Literacy Day, a United Nations sanctioned event, falls every Sept. 8. By commemorating the day, the government wants to remind the public that the ability to read, write, and do arithmetic is a basic need and right. But millions of Indonesians are still denied this basic right.
Illiteracy, particularly adult illiteracy, is an eyesore in Indonesian education. Although the nation's literacy rate among young people and adults increased from 80 percent of the population in 1990 to 90 percent in 2000, Indonesia still had 15.1 million illiterate people aged 15 and above in 2004.
The 2000 World Education Conference in Dakar, Senegal, underlined that free, quality education should be available to everyone. The conference pledged; "the learning needs of all young people and adults should be met through equitable access to appropriate learning and life-skills programs".
What would be an appropriate learning and life-skills program for young Indonesians and adults? One is the Kejar program. Kejar is an acronym for Bekerja sambil belajar, or "learning through doing". The acronym itself is a play on words. Kejar literally means "catch up".
The program dates back to the early 1970s, when it was first introduced to help school dropouts catch up and earn a equivalency diploma up to high school level.
Community learning centers (Pusat Kegiatan Belajar Masyarakat or PKBM), both government-supported and private, run the Kejar program in an effort to reduce illiteracy. The centers that receive state and philanthropic funding are able to offer free schooling. The private ones charge a nominal fee.
One such self-supporting community learning center is Wiyata Ilmu (the Learning Place) in Gandul subdistrict, northwest of Depok, a bustling town 20 km south of Jakarta. Gandul borders the subdistrict of Pondok Labu in South Jakarta.
It is evening. Two young men and one young woman sit behind wooden desks in a rented house, which has been converted into a classroom. A single 40 watt neon tube provides the main source of light. The house is in an alley in a densely-packed kampung.
Two of the students are Sulistiowati and Feriansyah. Accountancy tutor Yuli Setianingrum is guiding them through accounting problems that she writes in chalk on a traditional blackboard.
"I don't like to work on balance sheets but I want to complete this (program)," says Sulistiowati, 20, who did not finish regular schooling. The slender, softly-spoken and attractive Sulis, as she is known by her friends, seeks a high school equivalency diploma so she can get work as an SPG (sales promotion girl).
Meanwhile, classmate Feriansyah, 24, is a working driver. He goes to the night school "to gain knowledge". Both Sulis and Feri go to Wiyata Ilmu three nights a week.
According to the Depok education office, the city has 19 community learning centers which provide nonformal education for young people who were unable to complete their formal schooling due to financial reasons.
The centers provide free learning through government grants. Wiyata Ilmu does not receive government aid, however, and therefore charges its students. The fee is Rp 50,000 (US$5.50) per month for a high school level participant. This is on top of a Rp 50,000 entrance fee and Rp 250,000 to cover class equipment.
The founder and chairman of Wiyata Ilmu, Sumarno Setiopawiro, emphasizes the principle of quality in education.
When participants in packet C (the high school equivalency program) wanted to take the (state-held) exam without participating in the program, Sumarno opposed the shortcut.
"I rejected the idea. I have a moral responsibility to maintain the integrity of education here. It is for this reason the number of participants is limited," explains Sumarno, a lecturer in human resources management at a private Jakarta university.
Despite the small classes, Sumarno, 62, is proud of his center's graduates. One bus conductor got his high school equivalency diploma and is now employed at the Supreme Audit Agency. A number of other participants have continued through to college and have even advanced to a master's degree, he said.
Indonesia needs many more learning centers with highly motivated tutors to eradicate illiteracy and make it history.
The writer teaches journalism at the Dr. Soetomo Press Institute, LPDS, in Jakarta. He can be reached at wariefdj@yahoo.com.
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