Day: September 22, 2021

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DPD speaker pushes eco-friendly face masks, safe disposal

Speaker of the Regional Representatives Council (DPD), AA LaNyalla Mahmud Mattalitti, has asked the government to encourage innovations for the production of eco-friendly face masks, observing that face mask waste requires good handling.

“Face mask waste needs good handling. Due to their increasing use (amid the pandemic), face masks will eventually pollute the environment. I think the government needs to encourage innovation in environmentally-friendly mask technology,” Mattalitti said in an official statement received here on Wednesday.

According to Mattalitti, the COVID-19 pandemic has not only had an impact on the health and economic sectors but also made a massive contribution to environmental pollution, especially in terms of medical waste.

Citing a report from OceanAsian, he said around 1.6 billion face masks ended up as waste in the ocean in 2020. Such waste can endanger the lives of animals in the sea, he pointed out. “It happened because of the masks that are thrown away without undergoing (waste) processing. Of course, this can damage the environment in the long run,” he said.

The government needs to provide special trash cans, collection sites, and landfill sites for disposable masks, Mattalitti said. Other than that, the public is also urged to use reusable masks, he added.

He then lauded students from Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS), who have designed the Zero Mask Waste Box to reduce mask waste. The innovative waste bin processes disposable face mask waste to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission, he noted.

The DPD speaker also urged the government to intensify disseminating the guidelines for processing face masks waste. That way, the public can correctly dispose of waste masks, he added.

Source: Antara News

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Minister Makarim deems study programs at PMN as important

Education, Culture, Research and Technology Minister Nadiem Anwar Makarim has said that the study programs offered at the Nusantara Multimedia Polytechnic (PMN) are urgently required to strengthen Indonesia’s creative industry ecosystem.

“The three study programs offered by the Nusantara Multimedia Polytechnic — animation, event management, and e-commerce logistics — are fields that are urgently needed to strengthen the creative ecosystem in Indonesia,” the minister noted in a written statement here on Wednesday.

Makarim remarked that graduates in these three fields will push and encourage the creation and downstreaming of the nation’s breakthroughs in the creative industry sector.

“I believe that with the dominant role of vocational education in contributing the best human resources for the country, they will make Indonesia a proud country (in the eyes of the world). Hence, I expect that the entire Nusantara Multimedia Polytechnic civitas academia will later participate in efforts to create strong vocational training (that will later) strengthen Indonesia,” he expounded.

The ministry also underscored the importance of collaboration between vocational academies and the industry, as well as the business world and the working world (IDUKA). Of the 13 episodes of Merdeka Learning that have been launched, two are vocational strengthening programs: the Vocational School Center for Excellence and the Merdeka Vocational Campus.

“This is proof of our seriousness in pushing for the realization of the national vision of creating superior human resources. Through the Vocational School Center of Excellence and the Merdeka Vocational Campus, we present a new scheme in collaboration between educational units with business and industry partners, those being the 8+I link and match,” he explained.

The minister expects this scheme to serve as a bridge between vocational colleges through the provision of intensive and holistic assistance from IDUKA, right from curriculum development to recruiting graduates.

Directorate General of Vocational Education of the Education, Culture, Research, and Technology Ministry continues to push for the improvement of diploma III (D-3) study programs to applied scholars (D-4). Director General of Vocational Education Wikan Sakarinto remarked that this step was an effort to reform vocational higher education in Indonesia for greater connection between vocational graduates and IDUKA.

“This policy is not mandatory but optional. However, this increase is highly encouraged and recommended for D-3 study programs (students), who are interested in the process of improving their (education),” he stated.

Sakarinto elaborated that as compared to the D-3, the D-4 study program will provide more benefits in a fair manner for higher education institutions, study program managers, the working world, and the graduates.

Source: Antara News

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