IPM Stumbling, South Java Needs Development Acceleration

Name: IPM Stumbling, South Java Needs Development Acceleration
Uploaded: 2024-04-30T10:35:48Z
Duration: 20 min 32 s
Description: The southern side of Central Java needs accelerated development and access to economic, health and educational resources.

The southern side of Central Java needs accelerated development and access to economic, health and educational resources.

This article has been translated using AI. See Original .

WILIBRORDUS MEGANDIKA WICAKSONO

· 6 minutes read

Human Development Index in districts in the southern part of Central Java only ranged from 2.1 to 5.08 points in the last five years or the 2018-2023 period. Access to adequate economic, educational and health resources needs to be increased. It is hoped that accelerated development can improve the welfare of residents in the Barlingmascakeb area.

A queue of residents appeared to be snaking when a cheap food operation was held in the courtyard of Teluk Village, South Purwokerto, Banyumas, Central Java, Friday (15/3/2024). Prices of basic commodities, especially rice, have skyrocketed to IDR 17,000 per kilogram.

Kusmirah (63) has been coming to the sub-district since morning to be able to get 5 kilograms of rice at a cheap price of Rp 51,000 per bag or Rp 10,200 per kilogram. "My husband is unemployed, there are six people in the house. It's fortunate that there is cheap rice," said Kusmirah.

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Kusmirah stated that her husband, who usually works as a manual laborer at a warehousing complex, is currently unemployed due to workforce reduction. At home, only her daughter-in-law who works as an online motorcycle taxi driver is the breadwinner. "I am a housewife, not working, only my daughter-in-law is working as an ojek driver. I have one daughter, and two grandchildren who are all still in school," said Kusmirah, who hopes that prices will soon return to normal.

A similar scream was conveyed by Narti (63). "All up. There's nothing that doesn't rise. Mumet (dizzy), especially a widow. "My husband has died," said Narti, who was also queuing to get cheap rice.

The fluctuation of staple food prices is strongly felt by small and vulnerable communities like Kusmirah and Narti. Stable prices of food and job opportunities to earn a decent income are the dreams of grassroots communities.

Looking at BPS data, the Human Development Index (HDI) for Central Java and the districts/cities within it has indeed continued to increase in the last five years. Central Java's HDI in 2018 was recorded at 71.12. In 2019, Central Java's HDI figure was 71.73. Then 71.87 in 2020, in 2021 it will be 72.16, then in 2022 it will be 72.80, and in 2023 it will be 73.39.

Also read: Hoax Triggers Destruction of Vocational School in Cilacap, Five Students Detained

For the Banyumas region, the Human Development Index (HDI) was recorded at 71.30 in 2018, which increased to 71.96 in 2019, and further to 71.98 in 2020. Then, in 2021, it became 72.44, and is projected to reach 73.30 in 2022, and 73.96 in 2023. Over the past five years, the HDI has increased by 2.66 points.

Acting Regent of Banyumas, Hanung Cahyo Saputro, stated that from an economic perspective, his office always anticipates inflation in Banyumas by ensuring the availability of goods, trying to keep prices affordable, guaranteeing smooth distribution of goods, and communicating with the central government and local government. "If there are distribution difficulties, we will contact surrounding areas," said Hanung.

Apart from that, continued Hanung, specifically to boost HDI, his party is preparing a strategy and compiling basic data. "I am currently formulating how education and unemployment can be resolved. I'm currently compiling a database, namely the total unemployment data for Banyumas Regency. "Then, we identify per village, per RW, per RT by name and by address," explained Hanung.

Hanung continued, the data will also include the residents' latest level of education. Will they be sent back to school or will they be immediately employed? "For example, if you are in your 40s and have only graduated from elementary school, there are two choices, whether to continue upgrading their education level or if we intervene to get a job. One, the work can be included in the company. "The second is whether we train, we provide capital for sales, for example," he said.

The Human Development Index (HDI) in Cilacap district recorded 69.56 in 2018 and is projected to increase to 72.04 by 2023, a rise of 2.48 points. Purbalingga's HDI was recorded at 68.41 in 2018 and is expected to increase to 70.51 by 2023, a rise of 2.1 points. Banjarnegara's HDI was 66.54 in 2018 and is projected to increase to 69.16 by 2023, a rise of 2.62 points. Meanwhile, Kebumen's HDI was recorded at 66.80 in 2018 and is expected to increase to 71.88 by 2023, a rise of 5.08 points.

The face of education

Cilacap Regent Acting, Awaluddin Muuri stated that strengthening education programs, such as teacher training, is one way to improve the Human Development Index in Cilacap. "Developing teacher trainers is one of the efforts to improve the HDI in Cilacap. This is one of the ways we raise the HDI because our success as a local government is seen in those values and others. Hopefully, we will continue to pursue it," he said.

A number of cases of student bullying have tarnished the face of Cilacap education. For example, in September 2023, a viral video of a junior high school student being beaten and watched by his friends went viral. In the same year, in January, five vocational school students were arrested by the Cilacap Police for damaging the building of one of the schools (Kompas.id, 26/1/2023).

Regarding this phenomenon, Awaluddin stated that it is a small portion or individuals. "This is certainly a small portion, but indeed individuals. The main point is that we strive to make it a lesson for us on what steps can be taken to prevent the recurrence of such incidents. We can start not only in schools, but also in villages and families. We all work together to minimize these occurrences," he said.

Contacted separately on Tuesday (30/4/2024), Suharno, a Senior Professor in the Development Economics field at the Faculty of Economics and Business at Jendral Soedirman University in Purwokerto, explained that HDI generally consists of education, health, and economic components. "For the southern region of Central Java, it is not too bad, but below some cities such as Semarang and Surakarta," said Suharno.

Suharno stated that it is necessary to take strategic short-term and long-term measures to pursue an increase in IPM. However, in general, compared to other regions such as in Pantura, access, facilities, and infrastructure on the southern coast of Java still need to be improved.

"Regarding access, if we compare it with the north coast of Java, there is a need for improved access, facilities, and infrastructure. Then, there is a need for an acceleration of economic activities or economic scope that can drive South Central Java," he said.

In addition, according to Suharno, promoting the potential of the local economy also needs to be intensified. For example, the current state of Purbalingga Airport is like a lifeless body, but it can be revived. The plan for building toll roads and developing industrial areas can also be accelerated to absorb the abundant workforce.

Short-term and long-term strategic steps are needed to pursue an increase in HDI.

In the field of education, the breakthrough of Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo in building state vocational schools in Purbalingga needs to be replicated in at least every district. As for the health sector, the budget that was previously held back due to the Covid-19 pandemic can be allocated for preventive health efforts for the less fortunate communities.

Building the resilience of the economy, health, and education of the community is the preparation and capital to face various uncertain situations. The acceleration and equality of development in southern Central Java hopefully will soon be realized so that the community can become stronger in welcoming the future.

Editor:

RINI KUSTIASIH

IPM Stumbling, South Java Needs Development Acceleration

About AI Translated Article

The face of education