Papuans to benefit from US$1 million scholarship fund

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Fri, 03/19/2010 10:55 AM

A US$1 million scholarship program for Papuans to study in the US, signed on Wednesday, is expected to benefit both Indonesia and the US, say representatives of Indonesia and the US.

Deputy Minister of National Education, Fasli Jalal, welcomed the funding, which is part of PT Freeport Indonesia’s corporate social responsibility program. He said it could enhance the quality of educators in Papua as the program is for Papuans wishing to complete graduate degrees in masters and community college programs in the United States.

“[This program] is strategic for Papua because the standards of Papuan universities, such as Universitas Cendrawasih and Universitas Negeri Papua, can increase through cooperation,” Fasli said.

“In Papua itself, more than 50 higher education institutions are not up to the standard mandated for teachers and lecturers,” Fasli said.

He said studies such as biodiversity, food security and water management, are essential to Papua.

The US also expects to benefit from the arrival of Papuan students, who will bring a new perspective to the institutions they will study in.

“They are coming from a region that is not well known to most Americans and if they go to universities that do not have East Asia or Pacific study programs, it will certainly enhance their college’s understanding of eastern Indonesia,” said the executive director of the American-Indonesian Exchange Foundation (Aminef) Michael E. McCoy.

Aminef will select grantees and disburse the funds.

Freeport will not require recipients of the grants to work for them as the funds are part of their corporate social responsibility program.

“Freeport has been in Indonesia for 41 years and this is part of our commitment to the Indonesian government and Indonesian people, especially the Papuans,” said the executive president director and chief administrative officer of Freeport, Sinta Sirait.

The US government, which supports the higher education component of the emerging Indonesia-US Comprehensive Partnership, responded positively to the MoU signing.

“Scholarship recipients will return home and contribute to the development of their community and Indonesia,” said US Ambassador Cameron Hume.

Freeport will also continue to support Aminef with its Fulbright program, which sent 22 masters degree scholarship recipients from Papua to study in the US between 1998 and 2009. This latest program will be valid for the next five years, from 2010 to 2015. (gzl)