Hello, Buddy! Happy Wednesday, hope you’re feeling okay !!
Let’s talk about Dairi dalam Angka, the number of students, the relation with knowledge-based economy, poverty, library, and how to educate people about data.
First of all, you can download the file by clicking this link.
Lots of experts and billionaires have spoken that the cure for poverty is education. Trillions of dollars have been invested in the education industry, from curriculum development, school infrastructure, to research on how to push students to learn more effectively. People like Bill Gates and Oprah are among those who believe that through education, we can break the cycle of poverty. They have invested a lot of their money to build schools in Africa and consistently contribute to curriculum discussions.
These efforts are truly important due to our current economic environment, which heavily relies on the creation, distribution, and use of knowledge as the primary driver of growth and development. We can see this through our scientific discoveries, rapid transformation in many areas such as technology and biology, academic scholarship, and the focus on intellectual capital, innovation, and knowledge through patents and other intellectual property. A strong knowledge background can contribute to the knowledge economy, increase skilled labor, and enhance technology infrastructure. This environment called knowledge based economy.
Then, what about our regency?
First, let’s talk a little bit about poverty.
Now, please look at this table provided by BPS.
From that table, we can analyze a few things:
The poverty line.
The international poverty line, currently set at $2.15, is the standard metric for monitoring extreme poverty worldwide (World Bank). In Dairi, BPS has set the poverty line at 463,360 per month. This number has generally increased over the years; it was only 263,359 in 2015. The poverty line number is tracked based on consumption ability, and there’s a possibility to compare it with the income level, although there's no data about poverty line tracked by income level.
The increasing number indicates the rise of living costs and/or the minimum income needed to meet basic needs. The food basket is also another parameter to measure the poverty line, tracking the nutritional intake necessary for good health.
The number and percentage of poor people
Surprisingly, based on the data, there’s a decrease in the number of poor people over the years. The effort to alleviate poverty may have had some success, although the consistency to make it so are difficult. The percentage of poor people also consistently decreased over the years. Thus, we can conclude that there is an improvement in our economic well-being so far.
There are many more issues to address to overcome the percentage of poor people in our regency, such as the effectiveness of social welfare programs, employment generation initiatives, and investments in education and healthcare.
Second, let’s talk about library
Speaking of education, some areas where the government invests money are infrastructure, teacher training, curriculum development, student support services, technology, early childhood education, vocational training, and research and development. However, I think the importance of the library is overlooked by the government. The better the public library, the better the academic environment in its region.
During my school and college years, the library was my favorite place to study because of the quietness it offered and the chance to grab any kind of book and learn as much as I could. According to Pragyanam, the library offers critical thinking, which is a very important skill in this age, and the ability to assess any information. This essential skill is important to navigate someone’s academic and professional lives.
In Dairi Regency, the number of students ranging from preschool to senior high school is 85,021 people. However, the number of visitors to the library is only 28,128, while the total book collection is 64,820.
A few highlights to note are:
The book collection is greater than the number of visitors but smaller than the number of students. Then, is it good or bad if the total book collection is less than the number of students?
If the visitors are only 28,128, which means almost a quarter of the students' number, the percentage of students visiting the library is 33%. Does this mean that students are less interested in the library?
Since we don’t have demographic analysis, genre analysis, and visitor engagement in the library, what is your suggestion to improve the library facility in this region?
Let’s discuss the questions I posed above.
Fewer books mean an opportunity for expansion so that the library can meet students’ needs. People's interest in books may vary, and the use of online libraries has caught people's attention massively. Offline libraries need to improve their utilization, accessibility, and ambiance, especially in terms of the number of books, to attract more people, particularly students.
More students could lead to a higher demand for different genres and subjects of books. A low visitor count to the library could be a sign of lack of interest and awareness about the library’s offerings to society. Less information and accessibility can signal the government about the need to improve library management.
How should we improve the library facility according to you? I will leave the blank paper for us to brainstorm.
Third, let’s open the table for the next topic: how to educate people about the data they need to know.
Data can be daunting and intimidating for some people. I, myself, sometimes find it hard to interpret certain data. Visualization of data is really helpful in grasping information.
The data I'm referring to here is from BPS, a government organization tasked with collecting data from society. The book they published contains the conclusion of Dairi’s progress in all aspects, enabling people to learn about Dairi through that book. Although some numbers are confusing because their sources are not specified and there's no clear explanation, like the Net Enrollment Rate and Gross Enrollment Ratio by Education Level.
Instead of complaining, I thought that I needed to learn more about the data. Eventually, I asked an acquaintance who works at BPS about the source of the data. He told me that the data in the book comes from official offices and some are gathered by BPS. I also asked him about the analysis of the data, as there's no specific analysis provided in the book. For example, the specific number I mentioned earlier, 93.78, seems to lack context. His answer confused me further. This confusion led to another question: "Is this book intended for the wider community?" He said yes. Then, I think BPS should make more effort to make this book easier to understand for the community, such as providing deeper analysis. A deep dive analysis is only published by BPS headquarters, he explained to me.
At the end of that short conversation, I told him BPS should put more effort into reaching the wider community. If the final project is only to publish the book, then it’s like serving only half the meal. However, this presents an opportunity for many people to reach the wider community, it's not only BPS's responsibility to campaigns this data to the wider community. Third parties can help BPS and society enhance the promotion of this book. Some third parties include media, journalists, educators, and those who care about this issue.
The second part of the hurdle is to increase public awareness using various media channels such as television, radio, social media, and print media. Data visualization is one of the best solutions, but it can’t fit all needs. Solutions like posting on social media, community campaigns, partnerships with NGOs and private sectors, workshops, seminars, webinars, and many other ways are brilliant.
But, I think word-of-mouth communication is still relevant and actionable. Mouth-to-mouth communication can play a role in spreading awareness and knowledge about data-related topics within specific communities or networks, in this case, data. It should be part of a larger, multi-faceted approach to data education and literacy. This method is also effective in selling products or services. In my hometown, this method is still effective in promoting certain products or services, and ideas also spread through this method.
However, relying solely on word-of-mouth communication may not be sufficient for widespread data literacy initiatives. It's important to complement this approach with more structured and systematic educational strategies, such as those I mentioned earlier, to ensure that a broader audience is reached and that consistent and accurate information is disseminated.
March's Summary
It's April, Folks! 25% of 2024 has been loaded, how time flies so fast. I've been writing several topics on March along with "Career and Relationship" project and my first Anthology, Resonance. I love March progress, it has given me a fresh air to re-think things I want to do with my writings. Still, I have no specific niche, it's just me and my wild brain.
If you're interested, you can read or re-read again my articles.
Here's the link to visit each of article:
Summary:
The theme I cover: one article about technology, three articles about relationship, two articles about career, and the rest are from Artspace. A new topic rose on March because of my latest project, Career and Relationship Project.
Language I use: I used English for the majority of topics.
The most popular titles are from Relationship and Career: On Life Apprenticeship and The Importance of Storytelling in Our Community.
Hope I can produce more on April. Amen.
Source:
Badan Pusat Statistik Kabupaten Dairi. (n.d.). https://dairikab.bps.go.id/publication/
Education. (2024, February 26). Importance of school library for students. Best CBSE School in Gurgaon | Top School of Gurgaon - Pragyanam School. https://www.pragyanam.school/blog/importance-of-school-library-for-students/
Where in the world do the poor live? It depends on how poverty is defined. (n.d.). https://datatopics.worldbank.org/world-development-indicators/stories/where-do-the-poor-live.html
Hayes, A. (2021, January 22). What is the knowledge Economy? Definition, criteria, and example. Investopedia. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/k/knowledge-economy.asp
I would like to know your opinion about this topic. You can hit the reply button here, or just send me an e-mail. Here’s my e-mail: bintangmelva9@gmail.com
Well, you’ve reached the end of the story today.
That’s a wrap for today, thank you for reading. If you find this article interesting, please share this with your best friends, your partner, or other important person in your life.
Melva Bintang