We will continue to guarantee people access to education, especially for the unprivileged ones, by providing assistance for the elementary to higher education sectors.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has targeted 150 thousand college students to partake in various internships through the Freedom of Learning in Campus (MBKM) Program in 2022, a threefold increase from the participant count in 2021.

"We will prepare some 40 percent of them to become digital talents," the head of state remarked here on Monday.

Jokowi affirmed that the MBKM program's participants would take up internships in well-known companies to ready them to become superior human resources.

The MBKM Program is part of the government’s attempts to improve public welfare in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, he noted.

The program is a comprehensive career preparation program to develop the best generation of Indonesia.

It opens up a plethora of opportunities for college students to hone their skills in line with their talents and interests by directly gaining work life experience as a foundation for their future careers.

The president noted that other attempts were also being made in the education sector, including the Smart Indonesia Card (KIP) Program, with a budget of Rp11 trillion for 21 million students, and the College KIP program, with a budget of Rp9.4 trillion for 1.1 million college students.

"We will continue to guarantee people access to education, especially for the unprivileged ones, by providing assistance for the elementary to higher education sectors," he stated.

Earlier, Education, Culture, Research, and Technology Minister Nadiem Anwar Makarim had expressed hope that more university leaders would become ambassadors for the MBKM Program.

Several MBKM programs to be implemented in 2022 include the Teaching Campus, Student Exchange (PMM), Certified Freedom of Learning and Internship (MSIB), and Indonesian International Student Mobility Awards (IISMA).

Acting Director-General of Higher Education, Research, and Technology at the ministry, Nizam, noted that in 2021, participants of the programs reached 21,700; 8,200; 12,800; and 950 college students respectively.

Related news: Minister to expedite programs for human resources' improvement in 2022
Related news: Ministry stresses importance of academia-industry collaboration
Related news: Ministry invites students from 3T areas for Kampus Merdeka program



Translator: Indra Pribadi, Uyu Liman
Editor: Sri Haryati
Copyright © ANTARA 2022