Improving Female Human Resources Through Education, Tangerang Education Office Creates Girls' Program in Elementary Schools

JAKARTA - Improving the quality of human resources (HR), especially women, is an important concern in the development of education in Indonesia.

One concrete effort to realize this is through strengthening character education and skills from an early age.

In Tangerang Regency, Banten, the local Education Office (Dindik) responded to this need by launching an extracurricular program for girls at the elementary school level.

This program is designed to develop talents, skills, and instill positive moral values ​​and character in female students from elementary school. The Deputy Regent of Tangerang, Intan Nurul Hikmah, expressed her hope that all girls in the area can grow into a generation that is not only skilled, but also has good manners and good character towards parents, teachers, and the social environment.

"In the future, I hope that girls in Tangerang Regency will have skills, honed talents, and be better in socializing. I hope that their character and morals will also be higher than the previous generation," she said when opening the launch of the women's program in commemoration of Kartini Day, last Monday.

This girls' program provides additional learning space outside of the main school hours, which includes the development of skills such as manners, cooking, sewing, and various other activities that support life skills and character building. In the past, these kinds of skills were an important part of school activities, but lately they have begun to be replaced by the development of the times.

Intan explained that all elementary schools in Tangerang Regency, both public and private, will implement this program. Currently, there are 1,048 elementary schools that will carry out these activities with full support from the Education Office, including in the provision of curriculum and guidebooks.

"The implementation of this program is not mandatory, but is focused on students in grades 5 and 6 as preparation for entering the next level of education," she added.

Head of the Tangerang Regency Education Office, Dadan Gandana, added that the presence of this girls' program is a strategic step to strengthen the role of women from an early age. He considered it important to provide a forum that can hone the potential of female students, both in terms of knowledge, life skills, and understanding of their identity and role as women.

"We want to rebuild the skills education that has begun to erode. With this program, it is hoped that our daughters will grow into individuals who are insightful, skilled, and understand their identity," explained Dadan.

He also emphasized that the implementation of this program has gone through an in-depth study process with experts in the field of education. The curriculum that is designed is adjusted to the needs and development of girls today, so that it is relevant in preparing for their future.

"We designed this curriculum by considering the psychological aspects and real needs of girls. The goal is clear: to form a generation of strong and characterful women," concluded Dadan.