Govt to replace STPDN personnel<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Bandung\/Yogyakarta\/Cirebon<\/p>\n
The Ministry of Home Affairs is to deploy 120 civil servants to
\nthe government-run Public Administration Institute (STPDN) to
\nreplace its personnel following the controversial death of its
\nstudent Wahyu Hidayat.<\/p>\n
"We have decided to deploy 120 officials from all provinces to
\nrun the institute until the problems here are resolved," the
\nministry's secretary-general and acting head of STPDN, Siti
\nNurbaya, told reporters on Thursday after her inauguration at the
\ninstitute in Sumedang, West Java.<\/p>\n
Siti replaced STPDN head Sutrisno, who has been dismissed from
\nhis post and transferred to the ministry in Jakarta. Home
\nminister Hari Sabarno has also appointed the ministry spokesman,
\nI Nyoman Sumaryadi, as the coordinator in charge of day-to-day
\nactivities at the institute.<\/p>\n
The civil servants are to temporarily fill the positions while
\nthe ministry recruits new personnel to serve as guardians of the
\nstudents at STPDN dormitories. In addition, some 60 STPDN
\nofficials are undergoing a special examination for possible
\nreemployment at the school.<\/p>\n
Siti said 60 employees were insufficient to oversee the 4,230
\nstudents residing in 30 on-campus dormitories. Ideally, a
\nguardian oversees 25 students at the most, she said.<\/p>\n
She vowed that the institute would see no more violence in the
\nfuture, saying that STPDN would implement a "more democratic
\neducation system and avoid the one-way method" than the one in
\nplace at the institute.<\/p>\n
The ministry has also required that all students undergo a
\npsychological evaluation.<\/p>\n
On Thursday afternoon, all STPDN students attended a sermon by
\npopular preacher Abdullah Gymnastiar, better known as A'a Gym.<\/p>\n
The death of second-year student Wahyu Hidayat on Sept. 2 and
\nother cases of physical abuse reported afterwards have shocked
\nthe public, which became even more outraged after a video footage
\non violence at the institute was aired by private television
\nstation SCTV.<\/p>\n
STPDN, which is funded by taxpayers, was built in 1992 on a
\n280-hectare plot in Jatinangor, Sumedang. The tuition-free school
\nrequires its students to stay in on-campus dormitories for the
\nduration of their studies.<\/p>\n
Sumedang Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Yoyok Subagyono said the
\npolice would continue to investigate Sutrisno's possible
\ninvolvement in many of the abuse cases at the institute under his
\nleadership, despite his dismissal.<\/p>\n
Speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Amien Rais
\nand Muslim scholar Nurcholish Madjid urged the police to bring
\nall STPDN personnel to justice for their ignorance of the torture
\ncases and violence at the institute.<\/p>\n
"They cannot simply excuse themselves after the abuse and
\nviolence made public," Nurcholish told reporters after a seminar
\nin Yogyakarta, while in Jakarta, Amien called on the government
\nto close down the institute.<\/p>\n
"If the school can only produce violent cadres, it must be
\nclosed down," he said in response to public calls for the
\nschool's closure.<\/p>\n
Amien argued that "it would be dangerous if graduates of the
\nschool became civil servants".<\/p>\n
Siti dismissed the calls, saying that "the dormitory-based
\neducational system implemented by STPDN is the best concept".<\/p>\n
"If there is something wrong, do not raze the barn. We must
\nfind the rat and catch it. We will fix STPDN's problems while we
\nkeep it running," she said.<\/p>\n
The ministry also plans to merge STPDN with the Jakarta-based
\nPublic Administration Institute (IIP), which it also runs. IIP,
\nhowever, does not require its students to stay in dormitories.<\/p>\n
Siti said the ministry had yet to find the right formula on
\nthe merging of the two schools, as they had different systems.<\/p>\n
She confirmed, however, that "the decision is final. The
\nminister has set a target to resolve the merger within six
\nmonths".<\/p>\n
In Cirebon, West Java, dozens of STPDN alumni condemned the
\neducational system at the institute, as it fomented human rights
\nviolations.<\/p>\n
"We condemn the violence at the campus. We urge STPDN to no
\nlonger condone such violent practices," said M. Taufan Bharata,
\none of the first graduates of the school, who is a village head
\nin Cirebon.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/govt-to-replace-stpdn-personnel-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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