Upcoming Events Media Coverage Sekayu school raises national education bar | Sekayu school raises national education bar |
Page 3 of 3 According to Ade Karyana, head of the regency's education office, they expect the composition to change next year into 85 percent for Musi Banyuasin and 15 percent for other regions. "The 15 percent allocation covers all regions in Indonesia. The school's grade point average will also change from the previous average of 7.5 (out of 10)," he said without elaborating. Asked about the challenge other South Sumatra students would face in making the cut for the 15 percent quota, Ade stressed the need for competition -- which would nevertheless be inevitable. "The fear is unreasonable. They should get used to fair competition. Otherwise they will only be local champions with no courage to face outsiders," he pointed out. Uniquely, the regency's educational funds are not only derived from the regional budget but also come from non-governmental organizations like the Sampoerna Foundation, which has provided Rp 1.2 billion (US$129,834) to assist SMA 2 Sekayu under the United School Program, as well as the Tanoto Foundation and Liens Aid Singapore. Sampoerna has also provided aid for the construction of dormitories while Liens assists the school's radio station. Last year's regency budget for education reached Rp 345.6 billion ($37.4 million), double the 2006 budget. This year, the budget has been increased to Rp 354 billion ($38.3 million). Musi Banyuasin regent Alex Noerdin has also invited consultants from local and foreign universities, such as from the Institute for the Environment at Singapore's Nanyang Technology University (NTU), the British International School (BIS) and the U.S.' Fulbright program, all of which are providing free assistance to the regency's schools. Meanwhile, SMA 2 Sekayu serves as a center of comparative studies for schools in other areas like Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, North Sumatra capital Medan and Bangka-Belitung, as well as foreign schools like BIS in Jakarta and the U.S.' Stamford University, which have established partnerships with SMA 2. For example, BIS is SMA 2's sister school, and invites a number of SMA 2 students to study at BIS, during which time they stay with the families of BIS students. The international school also provides SMA 2 teachers with training opportunities. Separately, in August 2007, 18 education majors from Stamford University, under the guidance of their professors, visited SMA 2 on a 15-day practical teaching program. Regent Alex added that his administration's concern for education development constituted a concrete response to the prevailing conditions in this field. He is confident that, once renovations are complete, SMA 2 Sekayu will stand tall as one of the most advanced educational institutes in Indonesia.
|
|||||
Who We Are
Sampoerna Foundation (SF) is a professional philanthropy organization and a service provider for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) with absolute focus in the field of education. Since 2001, we have given out 30,000 scholarships, adopted 22 schools, offered world-class training for teachers and principals, transformed a graduate business school, and set up a student loan facility.
We are committed to transparency and accountability in all our activities and expenditures. Outsourcing your CSR activities through SF will allow your company to leverage our best practices and knowledge from more than 200 experts in education and philanthropy management. Sampoerna Foundation is certified ISO-9000-2001 for its quality management systems.
