Samarinda, East Kalimantan (ANTARA) – The National Population and Family Planning Agency (BKKBN) Head Hasto Wardoyo confirmed that President Joko Widodo had given the green light to the agency’s proposal to recruit 4,000 new family planning instructors.
“Praise be to God, our proposal to recruit new family planning instructors has been approved by the president, who allowed the recruitment of four thousand new instructors, as normally the government permitted only up to 800 new instructors annually,” Wardoyo stated to an audience during the working visit to Samarinda, East Kalimantan, on Thursday.
The BKKBN head admitted to the figure being insufficient despite the generous recruitment quota permitted while drawing attention to the fact that Kutai Kartanegara’s 230 villages had only 46 instructors.
“The ideal situation is one instructor per village, but we can see only 46 instructors are available in Kutai Kartanegara District and that means one instructor should handle six villages. This situation hinders our efforts to promote family planning in the region,” Wardoyo stated.
The shortage of family planning instructors must be complemented by new officers recruited under a working contract scheme, he noted.
Apart from contract instructors, the agency will also recruit family companions, with three people allocated for a village that will receive operational benefits, the BKKBN head noted.
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Meanwhile, East Kalimantan Regional BKKBN Head Muhammad Edi Muin confirmed the deficit of family planning instructors in the province, as currently one instructor should handle at least four villages or more.
“We experienced a shortage of family planning instructors, as our instructors should handle at least four villages or more. Despite the shortage, our performance remains good, as our daily activities are assisted by on-site cadres,” Muin stated.
During the audience, Wardoyo also recounted his experience working in Kutai Kartanegara, East Kalimantan, for five years and his current visit to the province that redeemed his longing for the province.
“I consider East Kalimantan as my second home, as I took up my first work as a doctor and supported my family in the province,” Wardoyo remarked.
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