Jakarta, Tuesday (21 April 2009) -- The Government targeted as many as two million illiterate people or 0.97 percent would be finished in 2009. In 2008, 9.7 million or 5.97 percent of illiterate people in Indonesia should be completely undertaken, minimal until remained 7.7 million or 5 percent in this year. More than 800 million people in the world were commonly women who still suffered illiterate.
 
Director General of Non-Formal and Information Education, Depdiknas Hamid Muhammad expressed the matter in a Workshop on Education Global Action Week for All at Hotel Atlet Century, Jakarta, Tuesday (21/04/2009).

Hamid said, from two million illiterate affected people that might be finished, more than 70 percent were in 45 years of age and 64 percent were women. He confirmed, illiterate roots were those never get elementary education service. “Quite a lot of quantity, around more than two hundred thousand every year unhandled,” he said.

Furthermore, Hamid expressed, illiterate roots were from specific group such as street child and remote area children. In addition, children those were in abroad such as in Sabah and Serawak, Malaysia. “Quite a lot of number, tens of thousand that no service found," he said.

Hamid cited, other groups were children who dropped out from elementary school level in class 1, 2, 3, and 4, where if unhandled they would be longer illiterate. "Therefore, in the coming we hope this illiteracy education should be put close attention. Empowerment approach might be truly applied, not only made literacy, but also any program – sequel program, so they would be no longer illiterate,” he said.

Hamid expressed, there were two constraints in making illiterate people could read and write. First, difficulties in reading and writing. Second, was learning Indonesian language. In order to solve those constraints, he said, the government carries out local or mother tongue-based literate learning program. “We have developed nine mother tongues. If they already able to read and write their mother tongue then we introduce Indonesian language,” he said.

Hamid said, beginning this year the government would apply a scheme together with UNESCO that called life literacy initiative for empowerment. This course of program, he said was not only to make literacy, but would also make empowerment either in economical, social-culture, or living environment. “Thus, not learning illiterate first, but learning new life skill then following introduction of letters,” he said.

Furthermore, Hamid said, this life skill would be integrated into literacy and equality programs beside course and training program. “So, that would be non-formal education basis later. All bases of non-formal education were life skill," he said.

Senior Deputy of Rector for Education, Research, and Public Service Division, Gadjah Mada University, Retno S. Sudibyo, as National Coordinator of Education for All, said, education for sustainable development was new paradigm of learning or education. “Thus, education was not just for certain competencies, but also insight based on three dimensions namely economic continuity, social equity, and environment conservation and social and culture as well," he said.***