E-learning closing RI's educational gap

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Indonesia's education sector said it was working hard to close the national's education gap by harnessing the latest advances in information technology to provide knowledge to those who need it.

"Geographical conditions in Indonesia and the ongoing growth of Indonesia's population are contributing factors that won't allow us to depend only on conventional approaches to education, such as face-to-face and teacher-centered methods," center head for educational information technology at the Education Ministry Lilik Gani said Wednesday.

"Like it or not, education is a sector that has to adopt technological developments, as in the case of electronic learning, or e-learning systems," Lilik said.

Information technology was influencing the Indonesian people's way of life and should also be used to provide alternatives in education for its far-flung populace, he said.

So Indonesian can more comprehensively implement the most recent technological advances for the benefit of its education sector, experts from 18 countries would gather in Bali to share both theory and practical experiences from November 13 to 15.

"The sixth international symposium on open, distance and e-learning will be held in Bali next week, with participants from the United States, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and several other countries," he said.

E-learning is a general for computer-based learning. But some educators have expanded the idea to encompass a variety of media and technologies.

Sulistyo Basuki, a University of Indonesia professor of library and information, said e-learning in Indonesia began in the mid 1990s as the information technology networks first introduced in the two previous decades expanded more rapidly.

Lilik said the government had applied two e-learning programs in Indonesia's education system.

"The television education program from the ministry is in cooperation with state-owned television company TVRI and has regularly aired nationwide," he said.

"We also have provided equipment for all junior high schools in Indonesia to promote this program," Lilik said.

"We're now trying to implement the internet-based National Education Network program, allowing students and teachers in remote areas to access educational material online," he said.

He said the ministry now had 1,000 network points divided into five clusters nationwide to facilitate internet use at schools.

Although advances have been made in e-education nationwide, constraints remain, including poor infrastructure and public awareness, Lilik said.

Sulistyo said of the 223-million-strong Indonesian population, only 20 million own fixed telephone facilities, a prerequisite to accessing remote e-learning facilities.

Lilik said the government's first step in order to make e-learning a success was to improve access to the electrical power and telephone service, as well as improving connectivity.

There are several Indonesian universities that have applied the e-learning program, including Bunda Mulia University in Jakarta, Maranatha University in Bandung and Lampung University in Lampung.(ndr)