Education is not yet easily accessible in West Papua. There are several problems with education in West Papua, namely infrastructure and school facilities that are still inadequate.
The main factor of education in West Papua is that it is not like other regions because of its mountainous geographical conditions. The original people lived in groups or also called tribes.
Each of the tribes living in this area is very far apart, making it challenging to build a facility that covers all of them. In addition, the difficulty of access in the area makes education challenging to develop.
Even so, the government is still trying to make it easier for the people of West Papua to get an education like other regions. The government has taken several ways to develop education there, namely as follows:
- Transportation Access Development
Jokowi is a president who focuses on building roads throughout Papua, including West Papua. President Jokowi’s decision has made it easier for the Papuan people to access transportation facilities so that the distance between regions becomes closer with a shorter estimated time.
Of course, the construction of this highway can provide opportunities for education in West Papua to develop. The easy access of roads to schools makes the difficulties that previously existed slowly disappear.
The most substantial impact of the construction of this highway is making it easier for children to go to school. If they had previously climbed a steep hill, they could now make available public transportation.
- Adding School in Remote Areas
https://www.kabarpendidikan.id/2020/12/51-sekolah-di-papua-resmi-mendapatkan.html
Problems that often occur in West Papua are due to inadequate school facilities or the long-distance from schools so that many students cannot reach them.
Therefore, the government prioritizes remote schools. The construction of schools in remote areas aims to provide equal access to education.
In addition, the construction of schools can also increase high interest in learning. Students will feel more comfortable if educational facilities can be met to make the learning process more effective.
- Improving teacher quality
https://tirto.id/mendikbud-keluhkan-tingkat-absensi-guru-di-papua-masih-tinggi-dcHq
This year, the West Papua Education Office focuses on improving the quality of teachers. The government hopes that increasing the quality of educators will impact the quality of students.
What is trying to be done is by conducting appropriate training for teachers to improve their teaching abilities.
Teachers are also given scholarships to pursue higher education. In this way, the quality of teachers will be guaranteed to increase.
In addition, the problem is also the limited number of existing teachers. There will also be an increase in the number of teachers to match the teacher quota.
- Providing scholarships for schools
Another way the government does for Papuan education, especially in West Papua, is to provide scholarships. This scholarship program will be given to indigenous Papuan children interested in studying in other areas, such as Java.
That way, children who have received the scholarship will be placed in leading universities until they graduate.
After graduation, of course, the government will ask them to return to West Papua. When they return, they can spread their knowledge to society and the education system in West Papua itself.
Those are some government programs for education in West Papua so that they are equal to other regions in Indonesia. This method, of course, takes time to succeed, so it can’t be instant. Of course, this should be appreciated because the government is very concerned with education in West Papua.
