1) Catholic schools seen as good models due to higher quality of teachers, principals

2) Indocopper scheme aims to prevent selling of Freeport's shares: SOE Ministry

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https://www.ucanews.com/news/state-and-church-team-up-on-papua-education/83959

State and church team up on Papua education

1) Catholic schools seen as good models due to higher quality of teachers, principals

Ryan Dagur, Jayapura  Indonesia  November 27, 2018

Senior high school students at Teruna Bakti Catholic School in Wamena, Papua, sing as Catholic educators visit their school on Nov. 22. (Photo by Ryan Dagur/ucanews.com)

Indonesia's minister of education and culture, Muhadjir Effendy, has emphasized the importance of working closely with the Catholic Church to address problems with the education system in many parts of the country including Papua.

Effendy, who attended a meeting of the National Council of Catholic Education that ended on Nov. 25 in Jayapura, said the ministry aims to improve the deteriorating state of education in Papua.

He said help was needed from both the church and educators.

The minister lauded the church's high-quality education programs for Papuan students, including providing school meals in a region where malnourishment is a huge problem.

"We will work hand in hand with the church, which has made a great contribution to the education sector, such as in Papua," he said.

About 300 Catholic educators — priests, nuns, principals and experts under the umbrella of the National Council of Catholic Education — spent much of the four-day meeting discussing how Catholic schools should respond to religious intolerance, extremism, the challenges of a multicultural society and the overall poor quality of Indonesian teachers.

Franciscan Father Vinsensius Darmin Mbula, chairman of the council, agreed with the minister. He said there are many areas where the government and Catholic schools can collaborate, such as provide training for teachers and principals.

"The council will start the training of teachers and principals next year," the priest said.

Sylvo Lobya, director of the Catholic Schools Foundation in Jayapura Diocese, said its effort to find higher-caliber school principals has encountered difficulties due to the high costs involved in traveling to Java, where the most talented personnel can be sought.

He hoped either the government or church would pitch in and help out.

"There is no [teacher training] institution here," he said. "Training for two people in Java can cost 100 million rupiah [US$6,900]," he said.

According to John Giay, an educator in Timika Diocese, many school facilities are in dire need of an upgrade. "Most of the school buildings here were built during the Dutch occupation," he said.

According to Bishop Leo Laba Ladjar of Jayapura, who also attended the meeting of Catholic educators, Papua's education problems are so complex that cooperation among all stakeholders is necessary.

He said the quality of teachers is just one area of concern. Geographical conditions pose another challenge as this tends to impact the attendance rates of both students and teachers.

"All of these things must be addressed," the bishop said.

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http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2018/11/27/indocopper-scheme-aims-to-prevent-selling-of-freeports-shares.html

2) Indocopper scheme aims to prevent selling of Freeport's shares: SOE Ministry

Stefanno Reinard Sulaiman The Jakarta Post

Jakarta | Tue, November 27, 2018 | 12:04 pm

The government responded on Monday to Papua Governor Lukas Enembe's opposition to the assignment of PT Indocopper Investama (PTII) as the company that will accommodate 10 percent of gold and copper miner PT Freeport Indonesia’s (PTFI) shares that have been allocated for Papua.

State-Owned Enterprises Ministry mining, strategic industries and media affairs undersecretary Fajar Harry Sampurno said on Monday the decision to assign PTII to accommodate Papua’s shares in PTFI was to prevent the possible sale of shares by certain parties.

Fajar referred to an example of a local administration in West Nusa Tenggara that lost 24 percent of its shares in PT Multi Daerah Bersaing, a joint venture company established to accommodate the shares during the divestment process of gold and copper mining company PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara.

PTII currently holds 9.36 percent of PTFI's shares. State-owned mining holding company PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminium (Inalum) is set to acquire 100 percent PTII's shares. Under the ongoing divestment process, Inalum plans to control 51.23 percent of PTFI's shares.

The government will hand over 10 percent of PTFI's shares to Papua – represented by the Papua provincial administration and the Mimika regency administration.

Under the scheme, Inalum and Papua’s administration-owned company will own 60 percent and 40 percent of PTII, respectively. The 40 percent stake in PTII is equal to 10 percent of PTFI's shares.

After the divestment, Inalum, PTII and FCX will respectively own 26.23 percent, 25 percent and 48.76 percent of PTFI's shares. (bbn)