BARABAI (TABIRkota) – The District Government (Pemkab) of Hulu Sungai Tengah (HST), South Kalimantan (Kalsel) has succeeded in winning three Freedom of Learning Awards from the Indonesian Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology (Kemendikbudristek).
The award was received by the Regent of HST, H Aulia Oktafiandi from the Minister of Education and Culture of the Republic of Indonesia, Nadiem Anwar Makarim at the Jakarta Convention Center (JCC) Jakarta, Friday (5/7).
The success of winning this award makes the HST Regency Government the only district in South Kalimantan, even in Kalimantan, to receive the 2024 Merdeka Belajar Award.
H Aulia Oktafiandi said this award is concrete evidence and an example of the Merdeka Belajar Curriculum to continue to be used by anyone who leads HST in the future.
“Hopefully the awards that have been received can be an encouragement for the district government, educators, teaching staff, and all parties to advance the world of education,” he said.
The implementation of the Merdeka Belajar Curriculum, he said, is considered to be in line with the HST District Government’s goal of humanizing humans and teaching children fun learning activities.
“The first step in implementing the Merdeka Belajar Curriculum is to strengthen teacher capacity and encourage the digitalization of learning so that many teaching staff can master technology in the teaching and learning process,” he said.
The biggest challenge faced, he said, was related to budget management which was different compared to other districts in South Kalimantan, while the HST District Government had to focus on the education sector to improve Human Resources (HR).
Another challenge is that teacher human resources are above the average age so they have to adapt, he said.
For new teaching staff, the HST District Government encourages the use of existing facilities such as education and training so they can follow the Merdeka Belajar Curriculum.
