| BUSINESSWEEK ONLINE : JUNE 14, 1999 ISSUE | ||||||||
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| INTERNATIONAL -- ASIAN COVER STORY
Juwono Sudarsono, Minister of Education, Culture, Indonesia (int'l edition) JUWONO SUDARSONO, 57, HAS been creating a credible school system since his appointment as education minister in May, 1998. He's turning back the tide of dropouts from Indonesia's junior high schools. The country's economy collapsed and parents could no longer pay for their children's tuition and schoolbooks. Getting them back is critical for the economy, which needs educated workers to keep the nation's factories, stores, and offices functioning. Using scholarships to target half the nation's 6 million dropouts, he has already put 2.3 million of them back in school. The bill: $52.74 per pupil, funded by the World Bank. ''This is an investment, not a cost,'' he says. ''Otherwise, we'll have a lost generation.'' Sudarsono may be out of a job should the Habibie administration lose June elections. But his achievements are sure to outlast his tenure. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ |
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