Padang, Dec. 5 -- Former Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla was awarded an honorary doctoral degree in quality assurance in education by the Padang State University (UNP) on Thursday. In his speech at an event held in the auditorium of this prestigious public university in Padang, the capital of West Sumatra Province, Kalla reiterated the significance of good-quality education for Indonesians throughout the country.

He believes that good-quality education would become a key driving force to transform Indonesia into a well-developed nation if it were to be offered fairly and equally to Indonesians across the archipelago.

In the absence of good-quality education, Indonesia will be unable to produce well-trained, educated, and brilliant...