Education is not an experiment<\/p>\n
By Nirwan Idrus<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia with over 220 million people and
\nnatural resources that can only make it to be a rich country,
\ncannot however survive without having a Human Resources Master
\nPlan. The technology revolution, the Internet inevitability and
\nthe arrival of knowledge economy exacerbate the situation in many
\ncountries, but more particularly in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
World Bank figures several years ago showed that 70 percent of
\nIndonesia's workforce have only primary school education or less.
\nOne cannot expect that figure to change dramatically in a very
\nshort time.<\/p>\n
It is regrettable that the government does not appear to have
\ndone anything about this. To be sure there had been a number of
\nsporadic and uncoordinated attempts by the government both during
\nthe New Order and post New Order eras, particularly in the
\neducation area. There was a curriculum modification in 1994 for
\nexample which received a lot of negative comments.<\/p>\n
Recently, there was the decision to give autonomy to state
\nuniversities by 2003, when such autonomy will be in place in four
\nof them: the University of Indonesia, the Bogor Institute of
\nAgriculture, the Bandung Institute of Technology and the Gadjah
\nMada University.<\/p>\n
From various statements made by people in those four
\ninstitutions, it seems that proper preparation for their autonomy
\nhad also not been done. A number of Education Acts (particularly
\nNo. 2 1989) and government regulations have been amended a little
\nhere and there, again appearing somewhat sporadic and
\nuncoordinated.<\/p>\n
Very recently, reports revealed the Director General for
\nPrimary and Secondary Education, Indra Djati Sidi, has had to
\ncontend with third or fourth class rate school buildings not far
\nfrom Jakarta and the serious drawbacks of the national
\nexaminations.<\/p>\n
He further stated that his department is working on amending
\nthe national examinations (Ebtanas) although it will take several
\nyears before the changes can be effective. Not knowing what
\namendments are going to be put in place, one cannot therefore
\ncomment on them.<\/p>\n
However, what is clear is that this is another nibbling at the
\nedges similar to the other changes we have seen to date. How
\ncould one teach in an accommodation with leaking roofs,
\ninadequate educational supplies and also importantly, teachers
\nwhose low pay forces them to be split in their commitment to
\ntheir main job?<\/p>\n
Higher education infrastructure is not much better either.
\nNeither are their curricula, discipline and practices. It is no
\nsecret for example, that many full time faculty staff spend more
\ntime outside their universities earning extra money than in their
\ndepartments and universities doing what they are paid for. While
\nthese may seem unimportant or trivial in the eyes of many people,
\nperhaps including officials in the Ministry of Education, the
\nimpacts of such practices on the country's human resources are
\nmany and profound.<\/p>\n
Unarguably, the Indonesian workforce will continue to be below
\nthe minimum acceptable international standard, leaving the
\ncountry open to potential exploitation by competitors when the
\nASEAN Free Trade Area is effective in 2003.<\/p>\n
Symptoms abound pointing to the need for a fundamental
\nrevision in Indonesian education and human resources systems, but
\nnobody seems to be bothered to do anything about it. If in the
\nearly 1970's Indonesian institutions were flooded by students
\nfrom Malaysia, the 1990s and 2000s in fact saw a reversal.<\/p>\n
Even regional Malaysian universities are active in Indonesia
\nteaching Indonesians management and other disciplines. Malaysian
\nprofessors and business people have also been recent guests of
\nIndonesian banks and higher education institutions to teach us
\nIslamic Finance and Islamic Banking, despite Indonesia's 200
\nmillion plus Muslims!<\/p>\n
Something does not appear right, does it? This is only one
\nsmall example. What about the many Indonesians studying in
\nMalaysia, albeit at branches or campuses of foreign institutions?
\nMalaysian Prime Minister Mahathir's dream of making Malaysia the
\nhub of education in Southeast Asia is alas coming true. Malaysian
\nprofessors are also in Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam helping with
\neducation there.<\/p>\n
If the Ministry of National Education does not pull its socks
\nup, who knows, we will have Malaysians telling us how to educate
\nIndonesians and how to prepare our human resources for the new
\nmillennium. This is not an impossible scenario and perhaps we
\nshould even count our blessings even if this happens, because it
\nis Malaysia and not some other country much lesser than Indonesia
\nitself, a more frightening scenario indeed.<\/p>\n
However, we all know, Indonesia was colonized by a much
\nsmaller country for over 350 years. Will history repeat itself?<\/p>\n
Perhaps the above suggestions are a little harsh, but
\nsometimes it has to be so to emphasize such an important point.
\nThe point is that human resources development and education
\ncannot be nibbled at the edges particularly in Indonesia which is
\nunder siege from competition, political and economic instability
\nand avoidable decay.<\/p>\n
The nibbling should be stopped and a more strategic approach
\nshould be put in place henceforth. Education is not an
\nexperiment, it is the future of the country and its people. Do it
\nright, the country and the people will prosper. Do it wrong and
\nhalf-heartedly, the country and the people will suffer. Under
\ncurrent technological explosions, the country and the people may
\nsuffer forever.<\/p>\n
In addition, treating education in isolation is not
\nappropriate for Indonesia in its current development. Norway,
\nSweden and Denmark perhaps can treat education as an intellectual
\npursuit. But Indonesia cannot currently afford to do so. It must
\nlook at education as a means to some ends, at least for the
\nforeseeable future. Indonesia needs both short term and strategic
\neducation and human resources plans. However, the urgent need is
\nfor the short term plan. We have so little time and will
\ntherefore need to move very quickly.<\/p>\n
The Human Resources Master Plan must define what sort of
\nIndonesians we want in the next 10 to 15 years or even 50 years.
\nWe need to identify the gaps between what we want to be in that
\nfuture and our current self. Then we should seek practical ways
\nand means to close those gaps, set the system up to carry these
\nout, measure and monitor how these systems work towards the
\nobjectives, continually correct the path and improve the Plan
\nuntil the objectives are achieved.<\/p>\n
Of course this is a text book and basic first step of
\nmanagement. Perhaps it is such a basic and fundamental step that
\nit was neglected by the powers that be over a number of eras in
\nIndonesia. It may help to suggest here that education and human
\nresources be consciously brought together and people be well
\ninformed of the need to bring these two aspects together.<\/p>\n
The ministry of labor and the ministry of education should be
\ndissolved, replaced by a new Ministry for Human Resources. This
\nnew ministry should then be charged with the above basic steps to
\ncoordinate the education and training requirements, to meet both
\nthe country's short as well as long term human resources
\ndevelopment.<\/p>\n
If this is considered too revolutionary, then we should ask
\nwhether we know how sick our human resources and education spokes
\nare around the wheel of Indonesia's survival.<\/p>\n
The writer is Executive Director of the Indonesian Institute
\nfor Management Development (IPMI) and Director of its Center for
\nCorporate Governance and Empowerment in Jakarta.<\/p>",
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