Nadiem’s new appointment will hopefully revolutionize the education sector as he did with the transportation industry. As Indonesia’s latest Education and Culture Minister, Nadiem will develop human capacity in Indonesia to escape the middle-income trap.
Nadiem Makarim, whose business idea employed 2 million drivers, will utilize his expertise in business to transform the education sector.
Nadiem’s new appointment is seen as a move to help the nation reach its full potential with 1.14 million teachers.
Nadiem’s new appointment as education and culture minister
President Jokowi, in his second term tenure, appointed the founder of Gojek as one of his cabinet members. Nadiem’s appointment will result in measures that would create ready-to-work human resources, said President Jokowi.
Nadiem’s new appointment is in line with the Presidents’ dream to make Indonesia an advanced country with an annual income of Rp 320 million [US$22,752] per capita or a monthly income of Rp 27 million per capita by 2045.
The President believes that the Harvard Business school graduate will develop the human resources of the country as much as he did with the transportation industry.
Despite Nadiem success with the app-based business, several Indonesian citizens doubt Nadiem’s new appointment is exactly the champion for the education sector.
Nadiem Makarim achievements
The 35-year old founder had created the Gojek application in 2015, which was a solution to Indonesia’s transportation system. The Gojek app gained extensive usage into five Southeast Asian countries, with 2 million drivers presently employed.
The Indonesian President believes Nadiem’s new appointment prioritizes human development in his administration.
However, not every Indonesian agrees with Nadiem’s new appointment. M. Ramli Ragim, the Indonesian Teacher Association chairman, expressed his doubt in Nadiem’s ability to transform the education sector.
Ragim mentioned an urgent need for the education sector, which is the recruitment of 1.14 million teachers. He added that the shortage of civil servant teachers puts elementary and secondary school education at high risk.
Due to the poor teachers’ salary, they can stop teaching abruptly, and the schools will suffer, he added.
Nevertheless, a few Indonesians on Twitter remarked high hopes on Nadiem’s new appointment. Even though they were taken aback by Nadiem’s appointment, they expressed optimism in President Jokowi’s selection of Education and Culture Minister.
Many people did not see Nadiem’s appointment as education and culture Minister coming, with some calling it a “plot twist”. They, however, are optimistic that Nadiem would make positive changes.
Two Twitter users, @rinafjrn and @fraugelato, both expressed their trust in Nadiems’ abilities to revolutionize the education system but there were also mixed reactions from other Indonesian Twitter users on Nadiem’s new appointment as Education and Culture Minister.
The whole world watches as Indonesian President Joko Widodo named his defeated election rival, a former general linked to human rights abuses, as his defense minister Wednesday and added: “entrepreneurs and technocrats to his Cabinet to address slowing growth in Southeast Asia’s largest economy”.
