To this end, Jayapura District Head Mathius Awoitauw had met with CBU's representative, Dr.Leri Leniman, in Sentani, the capital of Jayapura District, Papua Province, on July 7.
In a statement that ANTARA quoted here Sunday, Awoitauw said the cooperation with CBU is part of the district administration's efforts to improve the quality of Papua's human capital.
"An appropriate strategy is indispensable," he said, adding that the selection process was part of it to ensure Papua's prospective students to be able to finish their studies at CBU on time and with excellent results.
Prior to their departure for CBU, the prospective students are trained at the Papua Hope Language Institute (PHLI) to improve their English proficiency and help them get mentally prepared for studying abroad.
According to the CBU representative, this year, there have been 29 Papuan students who are eligible for joining the pre-departure training program.
Founded by Los Angeles Southern Baptist Association, CBU is one of the top private Christian colleges and universities in Southern California. It offers associate's, bachelor's, master's, doctoral and credential programs in Riverside, San Bernardino and online.
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Over the past years, the Papua administration has been committed to improving the quality of human capital in the province by providing scholarships to at least 3,000 native Papuans.
As a result, they could pursue higher education under the scholarship schemes at reputable universities in Indonesia and abroad, according to Head of the Papua Communication and Informatics Office Jery Yudianto.
Thanks to this affirmative action program, many native Papuans can finish their higher education and become a part of the skilled workforce, he told ANTARA during an interview in Jayapura last February.
ANTARA has reported earlier about how the Indonesian government has consistently demonstrated its strong commitment to boosting the development of the country's eastern regions, including Papua and West Papua provinces.
The Papua special autonomy law has paved the way for fund flows from the central government to Papua and West Papua since 2001.
The Finance Ministry's data has indicated that during the implementation of the Papua special autonomy law, the government disbursed Rp138.65 trillion for Papua and West Papua as special autonomy funds and additional funds for infrastructure projects.
Meanwhile, the total regional transfer and village funds that the government distributed in the two provinces between 2002 and 2021 have been recorded at Rp702.3 trillion, according to People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) speaker Bambang Soesatyo.
Despite central funding, the two provinces are still struggling to improve the quality of their human capital, as evidenced by their scores on Indonesia's 2020 Human Development Index, which were below the national average of 71.94.
Statistics Indonesia (BPS) revealed that Papua and West Papua scored 60.44 and 65.09, respectively, on the index. Their scores were lower than Aceh province, which chalked up 71.94.
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BPS data released in February this year further showed that the poverty rates in Papua and West Papua were recorded at 26.8 percent and 21.7 percent, respectively.
Translator: Ardiles L, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Suharto
Copyright © ANTARA 2022
