"I observe that the development of villages, disadvantaged regions, and transmigration is still conducted in the conventional paradigm," Iskandar noted in a written statement received here on Friday.
The minister's remarks were earlier made while attending an institutional quality improvement event at the Kiai Haji Achmad Siddiq Islamic State University in Jember, East Java.
Apart from technological utilization, village development must be conducted by effective and efficient measures conceived by relevant authorities to achieve optimum results, he stressed.
The minister called on village authorities to firstly identify existing issues in their villages before devising solutions to address them.
"Disadvantaged regions will be an inevitability based on the concept of disparity. Regions considered disadvantaged will continue to exist because the indicator (to assess village development) will continue to fluctuate," Iskandar noted.
He highlighted that collaboration with various parties is essential in developing villages, and collaboration with higher educational institutions will help improve the quality of human resources of village authorities.
During the event, the minister also encouraged the Islamic State University to participate in village development to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals in villages.
"We will establish partnership through the 'University for Villages' scheme to expedite village development. We need to consolidate our synergy in developing villages, and we hope the Kiai Haji Achmad Siddiq Islamic State University would become a part of this collaboration," Iskandar remarked.
Related news: Villages key to success of economic growth: MPR deputy speaker
Responding to the minister's encouragement, the university rector, Professor Babun Suharto, affirmed his university's readiness in enhancing the quality of village human resources through academic means.
"We are happy to participate in this noble collaboration. Not only our university and the Ministry should work hard, but each individual on this project must also keep high spirits," Suharto remarked.
Related news: Ministry cooperates with university to empower rural communities
Translator: Zubi Mahrofi, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
Copyright © ANTARA 2022
