"We welcome this plan. The exchange of students is an effective measure to widen the pupils` knowledge," said Deputy Governor of Bali Tjokorda Oka Artha Ardhana Sukawati, while receiving the visit of Minister of Education from the Malaysian Embassy Dr Mior Harris Bin Mior Harum in Denpasar, Bali, on Monday.
Sukawati, who often goes by Cok Ace, said there have been many student exchanges carried out in the past. For example, the Ubud 1 High school in Gianyar sub-district has established a partnership with the Japanese government.
There are a number of high school students who have had the opportunity to study in Japan for one to three months. "They stay with the locals in their residences, at the same time observing and learning Japanese culture. There were also Japanese students who studied in Ubud.
When it comes to the technical details of the student exchange program offered by the Malaysian government, Cok Ace said that he will let relevant agencies handle the details.
"What I would like to highlight is how much I appreciate this initial step. Hopefully, in the future, we can expand this partnership, and more Malaysian youth might become interested in studying in Bali," he said.
Meanwhile, the Malaysian Embassy`s Minister of Education, Dr Mior Harris Bin Mior Harum, reiterated that his party seeks to establish a deeper collaboration in the field with the provincial government of Bali, aiming at students in Bali.
"I would like to invite a number of students to carry out further studies at the excellent universities in Malaysia, so they can experience what it is like studying there. If this succeeded, I would like to establish a sustainable partnership in the future," he said.
He further stated that there are currently several universities in Malaysia that have entered the top 100 of the world`s best universities, so he believes that students in Indonesia, especially Bali, would not need to go far to study and find the best universities in the world.
"Malaysia can be a good reference to study in, and I hope that in the future many of our children will be willing to participate in exchange programs," Mior said.
For the first step, he planned to invite 20 high school and vocational high school students to study in his country. "Maybe in the beginning we will first invite them to study around Pineng and Lagawi, while hoping that there will be deeper cooperation," he said.
On that occasion, Mior said the reason he was very interested in working with the Provincial Government of Bali was because Bali remains a reference for student exchanges in his country.
"You can see that there are many students who want to study in Bali," he said, adding that similar cooperation had been developed in Bandung and Surabaya.
Reporting by Ni Luh Rhismawati
Editing by Aria Cindyara, Rahmad Nasution
Reporter: antara
Editor: Heru Purwanto
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