Little Sukatno experienced difficulty to access education.  In order to continue his study to the lower secondary education, he even had to work in Jakarta for three years in order to save money for the cost.  Now Sukatno devotes his mind and energy to promote education in his village.

Living in an economically disadvantaged family made it difficult for Sukatno to go to school.  This situation faced him again when he decided to move to Desa Bagan Limau, Kecamatan Ukui, Kabupaten Pelalawan, Riau.

Many children did not go to school because they experienced difficulty in access and financial support.  Because of these reasons, Sukatno opened a place for children to study and to learn to read the Quran in the afternoon.  These activities apparently attracted the attention of the local community leaders, who then gathered other residents to work together in constructing a primary school by self-help.

The idea was well accepted, and thus the residents began to work together until a school building materialized which was officially in operation in 2001.  And Sukatno became one of the teachers for sports subject at that school.

At that time, Sukatno was promised a pay of Rp35 thousand per month, but for four years he never received the money.  Even so, he and his wife remained grateful because sometimes there was sustenance from parents of students in the form of rice, sugar, or vegetables.

Until now, his status is still a honorium-based (non-permanent) teacher, but this does not dampen his desire to be able to do much for education.  Now, Sukatno, who is also a satai vendor, is continuing his bachelor’s degree education for Elementary School Teacher Education (PGSD) program.

He vigorously participates in various trainings, weather training from the government or training from the Tanoto Foundation.

“After returning from training, I always bring a gift for my students, which is knowledge,” said this man who now teaches seven subjects for 5th grade students in SDN 017 Bagan Limau, Riau.

“Thanks to the various training I have participated in, I am now more confident in teaching and making creative learning media for my students,” he added.

Quoted from the article entitled Sukatno Gotong Royong untuk Pendidikan (Sukatno Participates In Mutual Assistance for Education), Mediaindonesia.com, July 22, 2017.

Jakarta, July 27, 2017 – Learning process can not be separated from reading activity.  If a person has interest and good ability in reading, he/she will be able to absorb more knowledge from various reading sources.  This is important in giving the person an opportunity to achieve a better living in the future.

According to the average national Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) conducted by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in 2014, Indonesian children in grades 1 to 3 of primary schools were able to read 52.1 words per minute, with an understanding rate of 62.8%.  In comparison, the average reading ability from the Philippines EGRA results of 2013 was 68.8 words per minute and a 74% understanding rate.  For this reason, Indonesia must continue to improve children’s reading ability, especially those who are in the early grades.

As a form of support to increase the reading interest and ability of Indonesian children, Tanoto Foundation runs the Pelita Pustaka program.  Activities in this program include among others supporting library activation in 265 primary schools, donation of more than 51,000 books, and training for more than 1,990 teachers in managing school libraries.  In order for students to access a more diverse collection of books, Tanoto Foundation also encourages the book collection rotation system in schools located close to partner schools.

“Mr. Sukanto Tanoto and Mrs. Tinah Bingei Tanoto established Tanoto Foundation to support poverty alleviation efforts in Indonesia through three pillars, namely Education, Community Empowerment, and Quality of Life Improvement.  In the field of education, we support quality improvement through capacity building of teachers in teaching, improvement of children’s interest in reading, improvement of school hygiene level, as well as keeping neat and green school environment, “said Sihol Aritonang, Chairman of the Tanoto Foundation.

“Mr. Sukanto Tanoto and Mrs. Tinah Bingei Tanoto did not have the opportunity to complete their formal education due to economic demands.  However, they apply the principle of lifelong learning so as to be able to overcome the challenges that they face.  Mr. Sukanto realizes that reading is the foundation of learning.  He studies and gains knowledge from various reading sources, including books and magazines.  Even to this day Mr. Sukanto still reads actively. ”

“In this regards, the Pelita Pustaka program is the implementation of this value.  In addition, it is also an effort to encourage Indonesian children to increase their interest and ability to read and love books, “added Sihol Aritonang.

Pelita Pustaka, which is one of the components of the Education Quality Improvement (Pelita Pendidikan) program, has been implemented since 2010 in partnership with more than 265 primary schools in North Sumatra, Jambi and Riau.  In the EGRA assessment of Tanoto Foundation’s partner schools in Riau recently, the average reading ability produced was 70 words per minute with a 77% understanding level.  This result is better than the average reading ability of the schools in Java-Bali which is 59 words per minute and the understanding level of 78%.

Today, for Indonesians, English is no longer strange: in fact it’s a requirement for many jobs. Most parents introduce the language to their children from an early age, and it’s taught in schools beginning from kindergarten. English-language skills are seen as the key to a better future.

Lempake Village is a village in Samarinda City. It’s really hard to get there, because the access is not really good. Lempake 015 Elementary School in the village became a partner of Tanoto Scholars Association Mulawarman, made up of Tanoto Foundation scholarship recipients at Mulawarman University. One of TSA Mulawarman’s programs is TSA Mengajar, which provides English-language tuition to the students at Lempake 015 Elementary School.

Hi T-Friends hari ini seru loh, kita belajar tentang profession, mau tau adek-adek cita-citanya apa? https://t.co/ewVlTs19lE #tanotoscholars pic.twitter.com/5eT67dtJcO

— TanotoScholarsUnmul (@TSA_Unmul) May 13, 2017

This program is held every Saturday from 3.30-5pm and focuses on English because, although it has been made part of the school’s curriculum, its implementation not going well due to a lack of teaching staff. Students introduce English vocabulary by category, such as classroom objects, professions, animals, vegetables, fruits and daily activities. In addition to using classroom learning methods, they also use fun methods like games to help students remember what they learned in the classroom. This program gas proved to be effective for students at Lempake 015 Elementary School. Whenever they are given practice questions, they always got a perfect score.

Sampai jumpa sabtu depan ya adik adik, tetap semangat belajar ?? #TanotoScholars pic.twitter.com/qGr7GCqK44

— TanotoScholarsUnmul (@TSA_Unmul) May 14, 2017

TSA Mulawarman hopes that the English training given in TSA Mengajar will help the students in the next level of education. In addition, they are expected to compete with those who have enjoyed better facilities in English education. Their villages may be underdeveloped but it’s not an excuse not to learn English, and by this program they can prove their ability.