A Push to Get More Indonesians to Study in US
[MP3]https://server1.vnkienthuc.com/files/3/Media/se-ed-us-indonesia-14apr11.mp3[/MP3]
This is the VOA Special English Education Report.
The Obama [A]administration[/A] wants to double the number of Indonesians studying in the United States. More than fifty American universities recently [A]attended[/A] an education fair in Jakarta. The marketing event was part of a visit by a top American trade [A]official[/A].
The United States is reaching out to fast-growing [A]economies[/A] like Indonesia and Vietnam as new markets for American goods and services. International students put an [A]estimated[/A] nineteen billion dollars into the American [A]economy [/A]last year.
Last June, the Obama administration set a five-year goal to increase university [A]partnerships[/A] and student exchanges with Indonesia. The subjects include agriculture, business and information technology. Micro-scholarships will support [A]intensive[/A] language training programs for Indonesians, and for more Americans to study in Indonesians.
Ambassador Scot Marciel says student [A]exchanges [/A]create a personal basis for better relations. But he says the United States has to work harder to get more Indonesians to study in America.
SCOT MARCIEL: "We have to do a much better job of A) marketing our universities, which are the best in the world; and B) changing this terrible [A]perception[/A] that you can't get a student visa. So I'm literally almost out on the streets grabbing people as they walk by saying, Hey, we'll give you a visa if you go study in America."
Ambassador Marciel says more than ninety percent of Indonesians who [A]request[/A] a visa to study in the United States are approved. Still, the number coming to the United States has been falling since the Asian financial [A]crisis[/A] in nineteen ninety-eight. Last year, there were fewer than seven thousand. That was a loss of about eight [A]percent[/A] from two thousand nine.
More Indonesians have been choosing to study in Australia, Singapore and Malaysia. But the United States still has many of the world's top universities and [A]research[/A] centers.
English remains a favorite subject among students from Indonesia. However, many are also [A]choosing[/A] business and science.
Education Minister Mohammad Nur says increased cultural [A]diplomacy[/A] will help develop Indonesia and its friendships.
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There is a lot of history behind Indonesia's [A]relationship[/A] with America, he says. That is why it [A]needs[/A] to be strengthened. But the world's largest Muslim-majority nation also wants to [A]strengthen[/A] ties with other countries and with Europe.
Some Indonesian students at the education fair said they are less [A]concerned[/A] about where they study than about having enough [A]money[/A] to pay for it.
