Fishermen's Children To Fish Ponds Can Become KKP Cadets, Here's How

KKP (Photo: dock. Antara)

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) has reopened the acceptance of new students (Pentaru) in the KKP higher education unit for the Academic Year 2024/2025. The education is free and is intended for the children of fisheries actors.

Minister of KP Sakti Wahyu Trenggono said, 100 percent of Pentaru quota is intended for children who do fisheries, such as fishermen, cultivators, fish processors and marketers as well as salt farmers for free education costs.

The program was launched in conjunction with the launch of the Taruna Card at the Technical Working Meeting (Rakernis) of the 2024 Marine and Fisheries Human Resources and Development Agency (BPPSDM) in Surabaya, East Java.

"I have been happy since 2023 and the acceptance of cadets has focused on 100 percent of fishermen's children and cultivators. I hope this will become a policy that continues to be carried out. Why is that? This is how we change the culture of human resources. This is how we change our coastal communities and fishermen. After we have been trained for a period of time to come they will be more prosperous," Trenggono was quoted as saying on the KKP official website, Saturday, February 24.

Trenggono hopes that with the independent learning program, cadets will be deployed to domestic actors.

"This is nothing but to provide experience to all the cadets we have taught so that they are truly ready to become superior human beings and can compete at the global level," he said.

Meanwhile, the Head of the Human Resources Counseling and Development Agency (BPPSDM) of KKP I Nyoman Radiarta said there were three programs in Pentaru.

First, the Diploma I Program which is located in the Wakatobi Marine and Fisheries Community Academy. Second, the Diploma III Program which is located in the Marine and Fisheries Polytechnic (Politeknik KP) in Dumai, Karawang, Pangandaran, Sidoarjo, Jembrana, Kupang, Bitung, Bone and Sorong.

Third, there is the Diploma IV Program in the Fisheries Business Expert Polytechnic (AUP) on five campuses, namely Jakarta (main campus), Aceh, Pariaman, Lampung, Tegal and Maluku.

Nyoman said that all education units received 100 percent of students, the main actors of marine and fisheries, for free, except for the KP Sidoarjo Polytechnic as the only KKP education unit, who received 80 percent of students from the general public.

This is because the Sidoarjo KP Polytechnic has been designated as the Financial Management of the Public Service Agency (PK BLU).

"The determination as a PK BLU is carried out based on the Decree of the Minister of Finance (Kepmenkeu) Number 526/KMK.05/2021 concerning the determination of the status of PK BLU Balai Pelatihan and Counseling Tegal and Polytechnic KP Sidoarjo," he said.

For your information, the education unit within the scope of the KKP applies a vocational education system with a technical factory approach, which includes the business and industrial world in the education curriculum. The portion is 70 percent for practice and 30 percent for theory.

The study program at the KKP includes fishing, mechanical/fishery machinery, fish farming, fishery processing, fishery agribusiness, fisheries pathology, marine, conservation and marine ecotourism.

The graduates not only received diplomas, but also obtained certificates of national and international standard expertise and competence recognized by the business and industry, both at home and abroad.