SURABAYA, EAST JAVA — Departing from the belief that to build a good civilization, the basis is education. Education must be able to empower and change the fate of the nation’s life. The issue of access to formal education has only been resolved at the primary education level. The opportunity to achieve secondary and higher education still leaves many complex challenges. Expectations for equitable distribution of education quality are also still concentrated only in big cities.
In addition to access, quality and equity issues must be a major issue in the transformation of education in Indonesia. This transformation must have a strong orientation towards improving the quality of human resources. If not, then the gap will always be wide open.
Today’s young generation, who in 2045 will become important actors and determinants of Indonesia’s progress, need to get adequate education and self-development so that they are ready to enter the world of work, and can even open new jobs. Unfortunately, in addition to access issues, the quality of learning in schools and universities is not good enough.
As a result, the skills required are not fully adequate and many are not in line with the needs of the future world of work. The minimum skills to become lifelong learners who are ready to cope with the dynamics of a changing world are far from being met.
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Through the YES Scholarship education program (Youth Ekselensia Scholarship), Dompet Dhuafa East Java Branch conducted a written selection on April 27-28, 2024 for prospective YES Scholarship Batch lll beneficiaries. The implementation of this selection is in the East Java region which is divided into two cities, namely Surabaya and Malang. There were 100 participants from Surabaya and 55 participants from Malang. They came from various public and private SMA/SMK/MA spread across East Java.
This written test was held at Dompet Dhuafa branches/units in their respective areas. For the Surabaya area, it was held at the Dompet Dhuafa East Java Office, while Malang was held at the Dompet Dhuafa Malang Zakat Outlet. The written test is one of the stages of the YES Scholarship selection for those who have passed the previous file selection. The material includes general knowledge, namely math, English, and Indonesian.
One of the written test participants, Naswa Asti Lalita from SMK Negeri 10 Surabaya said, “I am grateful to have the opportunity to try the YES Dompet Dhuafa Scholarship. Although I was really nervous about the exam earlier, but thank God I was able to enter the written test stage. Hopefully it will pass as expected”.
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Moch. Rizqi Aladib as Branch Manager of Dompet Dhuafa East Java said that the YES Scholarship is an educational scholarship aimed at 11th grade students, to realize students who are intellectual, noble, and have the spirit of a leader. The hope is that this scholarship program can benefit those who want to continue learning to achieve their dreams in the future.
“In the excitement of HARDIKNAS (National Education Day) 2024 which falls every May 2, it is also a reflection on existing policies and the collection of new ideas in the transformation of education to answer the challenges of the Golden Indonesia era. Alhamdulillah, we thank the donors and partners of Dompet Dhuafa East Java who have supported educational efforts in Indonesia, especially the East Java region. With the existence of the YES Scholarship program, Dompet Dhuafa East Java has carried out a written selection of prospective beneficiaries of the YES Scholarship Batch lll, “said Moch. Rizqi Aladib. (Dompet Dhuafa)
Text and Photo: Dompet Dhuafa East Java, Dhika Prabowo
Editors: Dedi Fadlil, Ronna