Better pay urged for lecturers at university<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Low university salaries are impeding the
\nabilities of lecturers, thus affecting the number of engineers
\ntrained well enough to meet the demands of the industrial sector,
\nexperts say.<\/p>\n
The government must therefore take a serious interest in
\nimproving the welfare of lecturers if they ever plan to produce
\nqualified and motivated students.<\/p>\n
\"Teachers must be exceptionally good. If you have lousy
\nteachers, you get lousy products,\" said Professor Liew Ah Choy,
\nthe Vice Dean of Engineering at the National University of
\nSingapore.<\/p>\n
Speaking at the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education
\nOrganization (SEAMEO) colloquium on engineering and technology
\neducation yesterday, Liew Ah Choy pointed out that low salaries
\ncould force lecturers to moonlight and to lose interest in their
\nteaching responsibilities.<\/p>\n
He also pointed out that quality graduates would shy away from
\nlow government salaries and would opt instead for the private
\nsector.<\/p>\n
\"You shouldn't count on their 'love for the job'; they should
\nbe paid respectable salaries as well,\" he emphasized.<\/p>\n
Citing Singapore as a role model, Liew Ah Choy pointed out
\nthat the Singapore government, aware of this, went as far as
\nadjusting the wage of lecturers with the standards of the private
\nsector.<\/p>\n
Lecturers in his country, therefore, have no reason to seek
\nemployment on the side as they are paid well and fully understand
\nthat teaching is a full-time job.<\/p>\n
The three-day colloquium is aimed at providing a forum for
\nengineering educators and engineering industries to share
\nexperiences and insight on engineering education methods and to
\ncompare engineering education in various countries.<\/p>\n
It is also intended to come up with appropriate programs to
\nlink and match engineering education to industrial requirements,
\na task Indonesian Minister of Education and Culture Wardiman
\nDjojonegoro has pursued since the beginning of his term in 1993.<\/p>\n
In his keynote address yesterday he also acknowledged the
\nimportance of raising university salaries. However, he pointed
\nout that it would not be easy considering limited state funding.<\/p>\n
Moonlight<\/p>\n
It is common knowledge in Indonesia that many lecturers,
\nespecially those of civil servant status and at state
\nuniversities, moonlight to make ends meet.<\/p>\n
In doing so, not only do they neglect their academic
\nresponsibilities of teaching and counseling, they also leave the
\ncampuses for long periods of time to tend to their \"projects\" and
\nother non-academic businesses.<\/p>\n
A recent university graduate holding an S1 degree (equivalent
\nto a Bachelor of Arts in the U.S.) who intends to work as a civil
\nservant currently receives about Rp 130,000 (US$60) a month. A
\nsenior professor may earn around Rp 400,000 ($185).<\/p>\n
Ary M. Pedju, President Director of Encona Engineering Inc.
\nand a former lecturer, said that while he strongly encouraged
\nuniversity-industry partnerships on the basis of mutual benefit,
\nhe considered moonlighting as potentially harmful to both private
\nindustries and universities in terms of time lost in each sector.<\/p>\n
\"The experience gained outside may or may not be academic and
\nthus may be irrelevant to what students need to be taught,\" he
\ncontinued.<\/p>\n
\"Companies are actually reluctant to hire academics on such a
\nbasis...Links between industry and universities should be done at
\nthe institutional and not personal level,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He believes that links should be between each industry and
\nspecific university departments, and not with the university or a
\nparticular faculty, since departments \"know exactly how to
\nidentify industries related to their field\".(pwn)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/better-pay-urged-for-lecturers-at-university-1447893297",
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"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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