Lecturers are not doing enough research: Experts<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian lecturers are spending too much of
\ntheir time lecturing and too little on research at the expense of
\ntheir own academic quality.<\/p>\n
Speakers at a seminar on the situation of Indonesian lecturers
\nsaid universities and colleges should take some of the blame
\nbecause they are burdening their staff with too many teaching
\nassignments and are not encouraging them to do more research.<\/p>\n
\"Lecturers hardly have time for research,\" Soemarmo Markam, a
\nprofessor of medicine at the University of Indonesia, told the
\nseminar on Wednesday, which was organized by Atmajaya University.<\/p>\n
Soemarmo said the promotions of lecturers at universities also
\ndepends on the amount of research they carry out, not just on
\ntheir lecturing capability.<\/p>\n
Iwan Kurniawan, an Atmajaya University staff lecturer, said
\nthat the college authorities could rectify the situation because
\nthey are the ones who give out lecturing and research
\nassignments. \"Don't force a lecturer to teach too many teaching
\nassignments because teaching takes a lot of time and there is
\nnothing left for anything else.\"<\/p>\n
Iwan said that the college authorities should allow their
\nfaculty to choose what they want to do, whether to become a
\nteacher or a researcher, and they should also give credit points
\nfor research activities.<\/p>\n
The seminar, held as part of the 22nd commemoration of
\nAtmajaya University's research center, discussed how to apply the
\nconcept of Tridharma, the three principles of the university: to
\nteach, to carry out work for society and to research.<\/p>\n
Speakers at the seminar debated how much time a staff lecturer
\nshould allocate for each of these three factors, but most agreed
\nthat too little time is being expended on research at present.<\/p>\n
There were arguments about the definition of the second
\nprinciple, with many saying that teaching and researching are
\nwork for society.<\/p>\n
Efficiency<\/p>\n
Conny Semiawan, former rector of IKIP (teachers' training
\ninstitute) in Jakarta, argued that staff lecturers should be able
\nto allocate their time wisely between the three, with some
\noverlapping for the sake of efficiency.<\/p>\n
\"Teaching need not be in a class. It could be done in a
\nlaboratory as they carry out their research,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Irwanto, from Atmajaya's research center, said many lecturers
\nare under tremendous pressure because they are expected to
\nproduce high quality students and also take on more teaching
\nassignments to cover shortages in the teaching staff.<\/p>\n
Conny said universities are doing a disservice to students if
\nthey do not carry out enough research.<\/p>\n
The universities should instill in their students' minds that
\nresearch is an important part of the academic world, she said.<\/p>\n
She also called for improvement in the way the government
\nassesses the performance of faculty, giving more weight to
\nquality research papers.<\/p>\n
\"The regulation is good, but unfortunately the board who
\njudges their performance tends to look at the quantity of
\nresearch and not the quality of the papers,\" she said. (01)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/lecturers-are-not-doing-enough-research-experts-1447899208",
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