Jakarta (ANTARA) - Vocational schools in Indonesia must not only be able to produce skilled graduates but also young entrepreneurs, Director General of Vocational Education at the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology, Wikan Sakarinto, stated.

"Vocational schools must not only produce skilled graduates but also be able to produce young entrepreneurs. Hence, the learning process in school must be project-based," Sakarinto stated at the launch of Teaching Factory here, Wednesday.

He added that through the launch of the Vocational School Teaching Factory, his side at the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology was keen that students learn to become young entrepreneurs.

Sakarinto remarked that the Teaching Factory Exhibition showcased the work of 60 vocational schools from across the country.

Meanwhile, he noted that 949 vocational schools had submitted their proposals.

The ministry also conducts activities to sharpen ideas and facilitates training from the industry and practitioners, he remarked.

The Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology has provided funding in the range of Rp400 million to Rp450 million to support businesses.

As a result, Sakarinto revealed that so far, most of the vocational schools already had a turnover ranging from Rp3 million to billions of rupiah every month.

"For instance, the Muhammadiyah 1 Sukoharjo Vocational School has succeeded in producing medical devices, with orders from many hospitals," Sakarinto noted.

"The businesses run by those vocational schools must be able to survive in the long term. To this end, from the start, we provided training on how to plan businesses and develop products," he noted.

He encouraged vocational schools in the country to collaborate with industries in a bid to provide project-based learning that is in accordance with industry standards.

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Translator: Indriani, Raka Adji
Editor: Sri Haryati
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