"The Religious Affairs Ministry remains committed to building and creating a dignified and proud Papua though development in religious and educational aspects in We Love Papua/Papua Bangga," Religious Affairs Deputy Minister Zainut Tauhid Sa'adi noted in a written statement received here on Thursday.
The scholarships were offered to 280 students attending Christian State Universities (PTKKN) and 50 students from state universities.
Sa'adi remarked that unwavering efforts were being made to educate the nation, so that every child in the country, with no exception, gets the opportunity to receive decent and quality education.
He deemed education for every person as one of the important foundations in building Indonesian human resources as a whole.
"The main aspect of the We Love Papua/Proud Papua Program is to promote education and religion in the provinces of Papua and West Papua in the form of scholarship support for the younger generation, so that they can receive constant education at every level," he stressed.
Sa'adi advised Papuan students to not just sit around but instead to actively participate in pushing for national change. As the agents of change, students are required to utilize this scholarship opportunity as a platform to build and create.
"Be Christian students, who are creative, innovative, productive, and have character. Be students, who are able to produce creative work, to think innovatively, and to produce solutions, as well as have identity, noble character, and morals," he remarked.
Director General of Christian Guidance Thomas Pentury reported that this program had been running for two years. During the first period, or 2020-2021, scholarships were awarded to 253 students.
The 280 students that received scholarships were from various Christian State Universities, such as 20 people from the Tarutung State Institute of Christianity, 25 from the Palangkaraya State Institute of Christianity, 55 from the Manado State Institute of Christianity, 40 from the Toraja State Institute of Christianity, 60 from the Kupang State Institute of Christianity, 30 from the Ambon State Institute of Christianity, and 50 from public universities.
"Thank you to the Religious Affairs Ministry and related institutions that have helped the Papuan people a lot, especially in boosting the education sector," Pentury stated while expressing his gratitude over the program.
The government has set a policy for accelerating welfare development in Papua and West Papua in accordance with Presidential Regulation Number 18 of 2020 on the 2020-2024 Medium-Term National Development Plan and Presidential Instruction Number 9 of 2020 on the Acceleration of Welfare Development in Papua and West Papua.
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Translator: Asep F, Mecca Yumna
Editor: Sri Haryati
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