HIGHER EDUCATION, ISLANDS 'DREAMS

School
is opportunity, blessing and joy

The
sentence is written in one corner of the Andrea Hirata Word Museum. Through one
of his films that was filmed and became popular, Andrea Hirata recounted the
struggle to reach education in the land of Belitong. The film, titled Laskar
Pelangi, tells the story of children who struggle to get an education at a
primary school. Anyone who has watched the phenomenal film certainly agrees
that the struggle for education in the land of Belitong described is not
smooth.

Today,
children in the land of Belitong are not fighting for education at the
elementary school level. They are betting to continue their dream to go to
college or enough with their high school / vocational degree, then find a job.
Both choices have consequences that are not easy. As an archipelago, especially
on small islands like Belitung Island, some aspects are difficult due to the
unavailability of facilities.

Belitung
Island, or Belitong in the local language, is located off the east coast of the
Sumatra region. Belitung Island is the second largest island after Bangka
Island in the administrative region of the Bangka Belitung Islands Province,
consisting of Belitung Regency and East Belitung Regency. Belitung Island is
one of the biggest pillars of the economy in this province because it has a
fairly high natural resource wealth.

On
this island, white pepper (sahang) is one of the riches in agriculture. Besides
that, what is equally valuable is the tin which has become the main job site
that depends on the local community. Not to mention the results of fisheries
that are also a source of community livelihood. Finally, the tourist objects
are well-known in Indonesia to those of neighboring countries, Malaysia and
Singapore.

However,
natural wealth does not necessarily guarantee prosperity and the progress of
the quality of its people, especially in terms of education. Especially for
East Belitung Regency which is the furthest area from the center of the
province. In terms of education, children in East Belitung are more
"unlucky" than children in Belitung Regency because there are no
single high schools or universities in East Belitung

According
to the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) in the publication of the People's
Welfare Statistics of the Bangka Belitung Islands Province in 2018, there were
only 7.43 percent of the population in East Belitung Regency who had a
bachelor's degree. Scholars intended are those who have D1 / D2, D3, D4 / S1,
or S2 / S3 diplomas. The percentage is calculated from residents aged 15 years
and over.

The
percentage of undergraduate graduates in East Belitung Regency is less than in
Belitung Regency which reaches 8.89 percent. This is reasonable considering
that in Belitung Regency there are available high school or university level
educational facilities. Therefore, the availability of educational facilities
in an area has a significant effect on the education level of the area's
community.

Educational
facilities that are difficult to access because of the long distances that
cause education costs to increase. Therefore, children in East Belitung
District who wish to continue their higher education must spend more than
others. The cost of travel and accommodation while studying far from the place
of origin must be a burden. Finally, not all levels of society are able to send
their children to college because of cost factors.

However,
there are other alternatives for taking higher education in East Belitung
without having to go far to other districts / cities, namely the Universitas
Terbuka (UT) route. However, this choice has other consequences such as quality
and atmosphere that are different from high schools or universities in general.
For children who have just graduated from high school education, the climate of
high schools and universities that are physically present can influence their
thinking and creativity. Then it will have a positive impact on the quality of
human resources later.

Hopefully,
hopefully the dreams of children in East Belitung to get a higher education can
be realized. Without having to pay big fees. This opportunity should be fought
for in order to become their stock in building their own region.

Dreams
are the key, for us to conquer the world - the lyrics of the song "Laskar
Pelangi".

Author:
Uswatun Nurul Afifah

(Statistisi
Pertama BPS Kab Belitung Timur)