Campuses urged to boost quality of graduates<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Indonesian institutions of higher education must produce
\ngraduates who can compete in a fast-changing global marketplace,
\nsoon to include the Asia Pacific Free Trade Area (AFTA) which
\ntakes effect next year, according to Minister for National
\nEducation Malik Fadjar.<\/p>\n
Malik said on Sunday that campuses, as prominent sources of a
\nhigh-quality pool of human resources, play a central role in a
\ncountry's development.<\/p>\n
\"If campuses are able to nurture better graduates, we are
\noptimistic that Indonesia can compete with other countries under
\nthe scheme of AFTA,\" he said, as quoted by Antara.<\/p>\n
Malik was speaking while inducting Sahabuddin Mustafa as
\nrector of Tadulako University in Palu, the capital of Southeast
\nSulawesi.<\/p>\n
According to Malik, his ministry had suggested that campuses
\nshould focus on upgrading students' intellectual abilities, their
\ncommand of English, along with their creative thinking.<\/p>\n
\"This would also be our priority in a bid to narrow the
\nquality gap in human resources between Indonesia and other
\ncountries,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Malik's statement should serve as a wake-up call for many
\npolitical parties concerned with the quality of Indonesia's
\nworkforce and educational systems.<\/p>\n
In the year 2000, the United Nations Development Program
\n(UNDP) recorded Indonesia as having a poor quality of human
\nresources, ranking the country 107th out of 174.<\/p>\n
Indonesia is ranked below even several other Southeast Asian
\ncountries in terms of human resources. Singapore tops the list in
\nthe region at number 24, ahead of Malaysia (64), Thailand (76),
\nthe Philippines (77), and Vietnam (108).<\/p>\n
The latest survey, conducted by the Singapore-based Political
\nand Economics Risk Consultancy (PERC), at the end of 2001 ranked
\nIndonesia's education quality at the bottom of 12 countries
\nsurveyed.<\/p>\n
Narsito, a lecturer at the Yogyakarta-based Gadjah Mada
\nUniversity, revealed another gloomy picture for the country's
\nacademicians, saying that the world at large has little awareness
\nof the work of Indonesian researchers.<\/p>\n
\"Many research projects have been carried out by Indonesians
\n-- but none of them are internationally recognized,\" said
\nNarsito.<\/p>\n
He attributed this to the fact that, overall, the scientific
\nenvironment here has not been very supportive of Indonesians
\nseeking to produce world-class research.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/campuses-urged-to-boost-quality-of-graduates-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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