REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA – Government offers more scholarship for foreigners, namely Indonesian Darmasiswa Program. The recipients for 2012/2013 batch are 711 foreign students, while last in previous term are 486 students.
“The program is proven to be an effective medium to promote Indonesian culture and language,” the Secretary General of the Ministry of Education and Culture, Ainun Naim, said.
The most important thing, Naim continued, the program could be a measure to change misconception of international world over Indonesia. The students will directly see the democratic, multi-culture, and multi-religious life in Indonesia.
“By living for a year in Indonesia, they will feel how life is it in Indonesia. They can share this experience to their families and friends in their home countries,” he added.
Most of the recipients were willing to pursue their master degrees in Indonesia, the Head of Bureau of Planning and International Coooperation of the Ministry of Education and Culture, Ananto Kusuma Seta, said. “We hope the number can increase from year to year,” Seta said.