This test was attended by 281 participants who came from underprivileged families around the operational area of PT Bukit Asam Tbk (PTBA), consisting of 188 participants from the Tanjung Enim Mining Unit, 16 participants from the Kertapati Pier Unit, 19 participants from the Tarahan Port Unit, and 58 participants from the Ombilin Mining Unit.
The Academic Potential Test for the Tanjung Enim Mining Unit was carried out in PTBA's New Multi-Purpose Building (GSG), for the Kertapati Jetty Unit in Sriwijaya State Polytechnic, for the Tarahan Harbor Unit in the 5th Floor Meeting Room of the PTBA Tarahan Integrated Building, and for Ombilin Mining Unit in the Ombilin PTBA Hall.
Laurentius Agus Haryadi, Head of the Bidiksiba Team and PTBA's AVP Sustainability Accounting & Finance, highlighted that the Bidiksiba Program aimed to assist high school graduates and equivalent from underprivileged families in the company's operations areas in obtaining further education. This scholarship had been awarded to 277 people between 2014 and 2022.
"The Bidiksiba Scholarship is a manifestation of the PTBA's concern for and commitment to the advancement of community education. PTBA also wants to create change agents as breakers of the poverty chain in underprivileged families throughout the operational area," Agus explained.
The Bidiksiba Program collaborates with the Sriwijaya State Polytechnic, Malang State Polytechnic, and Lampung State Polytechnic. The Academic Potential Test result will be announced at each Polytechnic on 10 July 2023.
Deputy Director IV of Sriwijaya State Polytechnic Zakaria, on the same occasion, stated that Bidiksiba scholarship recipients would be given special attention. "They not only receive guidance in the academic field, but we also develop non-academic ones," he said.
Zakaria hopes that the Bidiksiba Program collaboration between PTBA and Sriwijaya State Polytechnic would continue and grow in terms of quality and quantity.
Meanwhile, Sri Alnisa, an Academic Potential Test candidate from MAN 2 Lahat, aspired to be selected as a 2023 Bidiksiba recipient and admitted to Malang State Polytechnic's Accounting Department. She expressed her gratitude to Bukit Asam for providing possibilities for students from low-income families to attend college through the Bidiksiba Program. "I'm here because I want to help alleviate my parents' financial burden. Because I can obtain a scholarship by participating in this Bidiksiba. I pray for the company's success and advancement," she said.
Not only Bidiksiba, PTBA also runs a number of programs to help the community in the field of education, such as the Ayo Sekolah Program, which provides scholarships for underprivileged students.
In addition, PTBA also implements the National Movement for the Elimination of Illiteracy in Mathematics (Gernas Tastaka) and the National Movement for the Eradication of Illiteracy in Reading (Gernas Tastaba) to improve the mathematics and literacy competence of elementary school teachers in the Muara Enim Regency area.
