Islamic Boarding Schools Student Should Receive Vocational Training: President

JAKARTA, March 15 (Antara) - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has urged all regional administrations in East Java Province to help offer vocational training and education to the students of Islamic boarding schools in the region. The president made the request while chairing a limited cabinet meeting on national strategic projects and national priority programs in East Java, here, Tuesday. "For East Java, I call for special attention to three main sectors that support the economy of East Java: the processing industry, trade and services, as well as the agricultural sector," the president stated at the meeting attended by East Java Governor Soekaryo. The growth in these three sectors has contributed to relatively high and sustainable development in East Java, according to Jokowi. In 2016, the economic growth in East Java had reached 5.55 percent, higher than the average national growth. "I am confident that economic growth could be increased further if we focus on making breakthroughs in improving the performance of these main sectors, by accelerating infrastructure development, cutting logistics costs, providing technical aid, and preparing quality human resources," he noted. He expressed hope that higher economic growth would also reduce the province's poverty rate, which is currently at 11.85 percent, or 1.15 percent higher than the average national poverty rate. Vocational training and education should be offered extensively by involving the related industries, Jokowi added.