Achieving Dreams in Colleges with Scholarships
Being accepted into a tertiary institutions that does not collect tuition fees and guarantees a future is the target of many young people.
Especially from poor families, particularly as tuition fees are getting higher and it is more difficult to find work.
It was still dark and the clock face read 3 a.m. Diploma 1 and 2 students of the Toyota Indonesia Community Academy (AKTI) who lived in the dormitory began to wake up one by one.
They rushed to take a shower so that there was time to carry out cleaning tasks and prepare for campus in the Plant 3 of PT Toyota Motor Manufacturing Indonesia (TMMIN) area in Karawang International Industrial City in Karawang regency, West Java.
These students wake up early in the morning every day so that they are disciplined.
At 5:20 a.m. the bus came to transport the students, selected tightly from a number of vocational schools across Indonesia, to the two-story campus. There was no time for relaxing, everything was measurable. Upon arriving on campus, students did the cleaning activities because there were no janitors.
Preparation for learning started with sports and morning briefings. Each student was asked to present the previous day’s learning for five minutes to get used to making presentations.
These students wake up early in the morning every day so that they are disciplined.
For Ahmad Sadam Barzani (22), a Diploma 2 student majoring in AKTI four-wheeled vehicle assembly operations, this was a way toward a better future. "I entered automotive vocational school for work. As for the college, there were no plans initially. There were seniors who had studied at AKTI and told me about their activities, so I became enthusiastic," said Sadam from Tegal, Central Java, on Tuesday (14/3/2022).
After graduating from the vocational high school, Sadam was rejected by a number of companies he applied to. Not giving up, Sadam asked for capital from his father who worked as an electronic device service worker to open a business selling fried chicken.
However, when there was another chance to test at AKTI, Sadam was persistent in convincing the examiner that he deserved a scholarship at college. Every year, AKTI receives 64 students of Diploma 1 and Diploma 2 programs, especially from poor families. Graduates receive diplomas and certification according to the Indonesian National Qualifications Framework (KKNI), then are employed at TMMIN.
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Students take part in theoretical lesson session at Akademi Komunitas Toyota Indonesia (AKTI) in KJIE Industrial Area, Margamulya, Telukjambe, Karawang, West Java, Tuesday (14/3/2023). Kompas/Riza Fathoni (RZF)
Strong active vocational education and its link-and-match program with TMMIN means students at AKTI have competencies according to the needs of automotive companies that produce four-wheeled vehicles. Vehicle engines produced at Plant 3 are also exported to a number of countries.
From November 2022 to February 2023, Sadam was the chairperson of the AKTI Student Executive Board for the sixth internship batch in the Cylinder Block Machining Section at 7:15 a.m. to 4 p.m. The internship will be run again in June-August later with renumerations of Rp 3.6 million (US$234) per month. The money will be sent to Tegal for the needs of his family.
"Without even feeling it, in August I will graduate. Later I will be contracted immediately. I am sure the patience of following an education process full of discipline and honing competencies has prepared me for work. I won't take long to adapt to the work system in the production line later because everything is prepared through education in class and practice," Sadam said.
Also read: Incentives for Vocational Education
Director of AKTI Edy Susilo D. explained that AKTI Vocational Education provided full scholarships for 64 vocational graduates every year. The application of the vocational education system was developed in partnership with users, namely TMMIN, to prepare reliable labor and create an industrial culture and prospective leaders.
This education also helps the younger generation have a better future. The students are accompanied by lecturers, trainers for workshops to mentors in the production line to become workers ready for the floor.
The students are accompanied by lecturers, trainers for workshops to mentors in the production line to become workers ready for the floor.
Official Service Schools
The opportunity for the younger generation to enjoy lectures without bothering to think about tuition fees is also offered a number of ministry/non-ministry (PTKL) higher education institutions with official service ties. Those selected will be recruited as state civil servants (ASN) at the central and regional level.
For example, the STIS statistics polytechnic in Jakarta, one of the official service schools under the Statistics Indonesia (BPS), does not charge tuition fees for students. The official service school is in demand by tens of thousands of high school/vocational high school graduates from all over Indonesia every year. In the 2022/2023 school year, there were 26,602 registrants competing for 500 places.
Several students are looking for reading references at the STIS library, Jakarta, Tuesday (7/3/2023).
Gestyan Ramadhan, a fourth level student of Diploma IV statistics computing study program said on Tuesday (7/3) he was fortunate to be able to study at the STIS statistical polytechnic. "It's free here and there is a guarantee of work," said the chairman of the student senate.
Meanwhile Bernardus Handi Kurniawan, a graduate of the State Polytechnic of Finance (STAN) under the Finance Ministry in the class of 2017, enjoyed the benefits of choosing an official service school. After passing the Diploma III taxation study program, Handi has been placed at the Ruteng Tax Office in East Nusa Tenggara since January 2021.
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The existence of a job guarantee and free education requires struggle. Avi Rudianita, who studied public relations at STIS Polytechnic said that education for the staffing or official service ties was quite tight. An cumulative achievement index of 2.50 is an absolute requirement to continue to the next level, with the provisions that the subject must not be worth D or E.
The Education, Culture, Research and Technology Ministry’s Vocational Education Director General Kiki Yuliati, emphasized that vocational education opened the way for the younger generation to be more ready to enter the world of work. (Z08)
This article was translated by Hyginus Hardoyo.
