Improving people's education will further boost the country's economic growth
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati accentuated the requirement to boost human resource quality, an indicator that downgraded Indonesia's global economic competitiveness ranking, from 45 to 50, based on the World Economic Forum 2019 report.

"The fundamental problem observed in Indonesia is that most people have only received education until elementary and junior high school level, and we need to improve our capability," Indrawati stated at the Tanjung Pasir Beach of Tangerang District, Banten, on Friday.

Improving people's education will further boost the country's economic growth, the minister remarked.

The government has readied several measures to improve the quality of education to produce qualified human resources.

Firstly, she pointed to the government’s allocation of Rp508.1 trillion in its state budget 2020 for the education sector to be directed for the evaluation of curriculum, learning process, and teachers’ quality.

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Secondly, the government will offer incentives to regions, so that they can contribute to improving the educational quality. Local governments will manage most of the central government's budget for education.

Thirdly, the government will offer fiscal incentive for private companies that offer vocational training and apprenticeship to boost the quality of Indonesia's human resources.

The government will also closely monitor the renovation of schools and campuses that have used the budget of some ministries and government institutions, such as the Religious Affairs Ministry and Public Works and Public Housing Ministry.

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"We have diversified our funding. Hence, we can build an education facility under a public-private partnership," she explained.

Earlier, the World Economic Forum, in its report on Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) 2019, had downgraded Indonesia's ranking to 50, with a score of 64.6, a slight drop of 0.3 points in comparison with the previous year. Related news: Demographic bonus momentum to produce innovation-based human resources

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Translator: Astrid FH, Sri Haryati
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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