Jakarta, 25 February 2009 – Malang municipality Office of National Education Department and Sampoerna Foundation inked Wednesday a cooperation agreement aimed at fully supporting the Sampoerna Academy in East Java. Showing strong commitment, the Head of Malang Education Office, Drs. H. Shofwan S.H. signed the agreement with Eddy Henry, Director of Programs and Alumni Affairs  at Sampoerna Strategic Square building. This event was also witnessed by Drs. H. Rasiyo, M.Si, the Head of East Java Provincial Office of National Education, Sapto H. Sakti, Communication Director of SF and a representative of PT. HM. Sampoerna Tbk, as the main donor for programs in East Java, Yos Adiguna Ginting, Corporate Affairs Director.

 

This agreement is a continuation of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by the Mayor of Malang, Drs Peni Suparto, MAP, with Elan Merdy, Chief Operating Officer of Sampoerna Foundation which was witnessed by  East Java Acting Governor Setia Purwaka on 19 December 2008. It will forge the development of SMAN 10 Malang to be the much-awaited International School equipped with dormitories.

 

 

In this occasion, Rosiyo said that the education is of a crucial issue that has been the government’s concern. This is proven by the increase of education budget to 20% of the national budget. He also reminded that there are eight standards that should be fulfilled in order to be an International school. The standardization covers Content, Process, alumni’s competence, teachers and educational practitioners, infrastructure, Management, Financing and Assessment.

 

“The improvement of education quality will result in better quality of human resources. Therefore, all of the teachers should improve their competency as well, especially their English proficiency. In addition, 20 to 30% of them are required to be postgraduates.” Rosiyo added.

 

Further, Communication Director of SF, Sapto H. Sakti, emphasized that, “shaping outstanding human resources takes several processes. We do hope that our efforts will not just end in developing high school students. We have also been thinking of what the students will do after finishing their study. A collaboration of the local government and private sector, PT. HM Sampoerna Tbk in this case, should constantly be fostered. Hopefully, Sampoerna Academy will make Malang not only famous for its apples but also for its superior human resources”