Mahmila, participant from Kaimana, West Papua took the UTBK test at UNESA
Unesa.ac.id., SURABAYA—UTBK test participants at Surabaya State University (UNESA) have their own motivation to strive to enter college country through the 2024 SNBT route. Like Mahmila, for example, who wants to study because she is motivated by the educational conditions in her area, Kaimana, West Papua,
Mila, as she is familiarly known, is a UTBK test participant from the most distant area who took part in the first session at UNESA . "I joined UTBK and chose the Primary School Teacher Education (PGSD) study program because I wanted to be involved in improving educational conditions in the area where I was born," he said after the test.
He said that, in general, the conditions and education system in Papua had experienced significant progress. Now, children in the area are increasingly interested in pursuing education, even up to graduate level.
In Papua itself, most schools have a relatively small number of students, with study groups consisting of at most 100 students from grades 1 to 6. In fact, there are classes that only have a dozen students, or even just a handful of students, because the number of children in the villages is also limited.
"Overall the quality of education in Papua has increased but there is still room for further improvement. It remains to be seen how we as the next generation can continue and improve the quality of education there," he said.
The condition of education in the Papua region is not evenly distributed, especially in the interior. The need for teachers and educational staff there is still lacking, so teachers in Papua must also understand and tolerate the unique conditions of their students.
Mila said that it is not uncommon to find children finishing elementary school at a relatively higher age than in other areas. This shows the complexity and challenges that must be faced in the education sector in the area, especially at the elementary school level.
It is not uncommon to find situations where one village may only have one level of education, whether it is elementary school, middle school, or SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL. This causes children who want to continue their education to have to travel long distances to other villages or even to cities.
"I want to teach in my area, so that the number of teaching staff increases and children don't have to go to other villages to study," hoped Mila. The desire to teach in Papua is not only motivated by personal drive, but also by the urgent need to be involved as an educator in his homeland. []
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Reporter: Erza Angelia (Fisipol) and Muhammad Dian Purnama (FMIPA)
Editor: @zam*
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