Mendes PDTT: Campus And Village Collaboration Accelerate Village Development

Minister of Villages, Development of Disadvantaged Regions and Transmigration (Mendes PDTT) Abdul Halim Iskandar / PHOTO VIA ANTARA

JAKARTA - Minister of Villages, Development of Disadvantaged Regions and Transmigration (Mendes PDTT) Abdul Halim Iskandar said campus and village collaboration must be strengthened and constructively in order to accelerate village development and empowerment.

"The role of higher education associations is important. Villages will be very good if we are together. And of course increasing the capacity of village heads, village officials, village BUM administrators and village assistants will further accelerate the pace of development and village independence," said Mendes PDTT in a written statement. quoted by Antara, Sunday, January 16.

He said campus involvement in village development should not be delayed any longer. This is because the campus is not only measured by academic indicators, but also by how much the campus provides blessings and benefits to the villagers.

"Campuses exist to improve human quality, campuses are born for villages," he said, in his welcoming speech for the Sewindu Village Law celebration at Kasepuhan Cipta Degree, Sirnaresmi Village, Cisolok District, Sukabumi Regency, West Java, Saturday (15/01).

According to him, village development in this era, including the success of achieving the Village SDGs, requires data compilation, processing of activity recommendations electronically, implementation of development, and digital monitoring.

"At that point, structured scientific support, especially from academia, becomes very important," said Gus Halim, as he is usually called.

He stated that the Kemendes PDTT had provided the Village Academy program as a forum for village heads, village officials, BUMDes administrators and village assistants to communicate with universities.

"Villages will get quality human resources for data collection, efficient implementation of activities and expansion of village potential utilization," he said.

Meanwhile, KKN participants, he continued, gained field experience to increase awareness of village development patterns, village community relations and development practices to improve the welfare of villagers.

Meanwhile, UGM Chancellor Panut Mulyono said that the campus and village collaboration is a real form of developing villages through various programs for village progress.

"We have discussed how to improve competencies that will help the government in village development efforts, including through various certified courses, certain skills training, even for education which will be facilitated by recognizing past learning lessons," he said.