Education, Training & Consultancy
(P3K)
education as
means to empowerment
What's in a Name?
P3K, Pusat Pendidikan
Pelatihan dan Konsultasi, (the Education Training and
Consultancy Centre) also shares its acronym with the phrase in
Bahasa Indonesia meaning 'first aid'. This is not entirely
inappropriate, as we see the provision of education
opportunities to those from
whom they are denied (specifically opportunities non-formal in
nature) as being every bit as critical as treating
victims of an accident.
So whether we are sponsoring
high school kids whose families are unable to afford school
fees, or lending help to the children with learning difficulties,
or teaching adults to read, or working to empower communities, P3K
is simply trying to provide opportunities for the poor, the
availability of which most of us simply take for granted.
The Need
Empowerment through alternative education is
not a new theme in community development. As a developing
country, Indonesia has experienced a growing demand for learning
and education. The Indonesian education system however, has been
hampered by bad planning, poor implementation and negative
publicity. A recent survey placed the quality of education in
Indonesia near the bottom of the list of South East Asian
nations. The report cites a study by the Central Independent
Monitoring Unit which lists the following current shortcomings: poor
teacher training, an overloaded and nonintegrated curriculum,
high repetition rates, the need for schools to rely on parental
financial contributions even in poor communities, and the fact
that 40 percent of students in the first six grades do not even
have text books.
The government's
'Free School Fee Programme' was originally
meant to provide for six years of basic compulsory education,
though this expanded to nine years of universal basic education
in 1994. The intent was to release parents from worrying school
fees (including tuition fees). But in reality, families still had to
pay for other educational expenses in public schools, such as
fees for school activities (called the BP3 or Biaya Pelaksanaan
Penyelenggaraan Pendidikan), school maintenance, and extra money
for educational personnel in school. Even though, theoretically,
there are no school fees, many parents remain unable to pay the
extra expenses mentioned above and thus many children have their
education cut short.
Community development agencies
focusing upon education should
therefore strive to provide opportunity for drop-outs, for
the poor, for the illiterate and for women. Non-formal,
out-of-school education and as well as life skills courses
need to be readily available by way of adult education programmes.
“Education should have as one of its main
tasks to invite people to believe in themselves. It should
invite people to believe they have the knowledge” (Freire,
1973).
Community empowerment and development must
'above all, give them [the poor] a voice, [which] articulates
their immediate interests, and creates the conditions for a more
adequate and meaningful livelihood.' (John Friedmann, 1991).
As SNT’s
Education and Training unit, P3K has a vision and mission statement which
states that it aims ‘...to empower a maximum number of Tasikmalaya's
marginalized population by way of participatory education and
training in order that they might enjoy an enhanced quality of
life.’
As is clear,
Indonesia's education system still faces serious
shortcomings. These include frequent, poorly-designed curriculum
changes, under-paid and poorly-trained teachers, inadequate
school facilities and a funding system affected by corruption.
The Tasikmalaya region has one of the highest student drop-out
rates – particularly noticeable at lower secondary level (years
seven to nine) – in all of West Java. The problem is primarily
caused by widespread poverty with many low income families being
unable to afford the expense of keeping their children in
school.
- P3K began in July 2003 and now has a
staff of seven local workers plus two foreign consultants.
- We run after-school supplementary classes
for children from Tasikmalaya’s poorest schools; and
urban-poor children.
- A community-based participatory and
learning programme for children, dropouts and women is
underway within the city.
- A programme for children with special needs
has just opened.
- Commercialized English, Arts, computer
and tuition classes help fund other activities
