Surabaya, East Java (ANTARA) - Mayor of Surabaya Eri Cahyadi presented commendations to student achievers and offered scholarships to memorizers of holy books during the National Education Day commemoration at Surabaya City Hall on Friday.

"In the last two years, so many challenges we faced together, which we never imagined before. Perhaps, we even had never imagined to solve them," the Mayor said.

The two-year pandemic has provided many lessons, particularly in the education sector, with students learning through the online method, not just face-to-face, he added.

"Knowledge about the Internet is already common, and it's more fun," he said.

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Through the Freedom in Learning Curriculum initiated by the Education and Culture Ministry, it is expected that there would be potential leaders in the future, who would be ready to answer to future challenges.

Cahyadi described it as one of the good things that emerged from the pandemic.

The mayor said he believes that every trial and tribulation from God provides lessons in the end. Therefore, on National Education Day, rewards were offered to Surabaya students with good academic achievements.

He said he expected their peers to also adopt the spirit and willingness to learn.

The Mayor further said he is confident that National Education Day would strengthen the spirit to improve the education sector in Surabaya city. Moreover, students no longer need to be concerned about the graduation exam because the National Assessment is not meant to burden teachers or students.

"By doing so, there's a sense of comfort between teachers and students. With this education system, I am sure there will be extraordinary, talented leaders from Surabaya city," he added.

Meanwhile, head of the Surabaya Education Office, Yusuf Masruh, appealed to all educators to stay motivated in guiding students. In any situation, they must keep their spirits up in educating the children, he said.

Although the pandemic is not fully over yet, Masruh stressed that they must still power through in guiding students, both in academic terms as well as in identifying students' talents.

In the future, there would be education on character, he said adding, he is confident that good character would impact academic achievements in a good way.

The scholarship selection process for Friday’s event took place from May 9 to 11, 2022.

This year, at least 1,212 students from kindergarten, elementary schools, and middle schools made it through the selection process, becoming eligible for the scholarship. They comprised 680 Muslim children, 243 Christian children, 110 Catholic children, 120 Hindu children, 20 Buddhist children, and 29 Confucian children.









Translator: Mecca Yumna Ning Prisie
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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