Jakarta (ANTARA) - Villages, Disadvantaged Regions Development, and Transmigration Minister Abdul Halim Iskandar (Gus Halim) in his speech at Yudharta University's graduation ceremony, urged Indonesian university students to dedicate themselves to the betterment of villages by working there.
"Villages are Indonesia's future," he noted as quoted from the press statement issued here on Monday.
On Sunday, he invited the 496 graduates from Yudharta University, Pasuruan, East Java, to participate in expediting the development of villages in Indonesia.
He believes huge potential exists in villages that if managed optimally by promising individuals, such as Yudharta University's graduates, could result in extraordinary acceleration of development.
Related news: Ministry of Education supports Huawei cultivate Indonesian digital talents
The minister noted that on the basis of his experiences of touring almost all provinces in Indonesia, he observed that advanced villages had two aspects in common.
One of them was the fact that their village chief was still young or had received higher education and even a doctorate degree.
"They also massively contributed to the development of their villages," he added.
To this end, Gus Halim called for the graduates to not be blinded by the city life, as there is potential to serve in villages.
Related news: Ministry encourages madrassa teachers to strengthen digital culture
Currently, the village fund budget allotted from the state budget to villages reached Rp72 trillion, he noted.
In fact, funds totaling Rp200 trillion had been distributed to villages across Indonesia from various sources, he elaborated.
"This means that serious handling is required," he stated.
If the fund distributed to villages is not handled by professional human resources, then the villagers will be the ones suffering the most, Gus Halim noted.
"This is quite a heavy responsibility, but I believe that it can be handled by the right human resources," he affirmed.
Related news: Dismal interest to bag teaching positions in 3T areas: Ministry
Related news: Village fund can be utilized to finance education: minister
