No ordinary college<\/p>\n
Not many colleges in the country have a strong and influential
\nassociation of alumni, and even fewer of these associations meet
\nregularly. And perhaps only one college in Indonesia has an
\nalumni association which can get the country's president to open
\nits congress: the Bandung Institute of Technology. But then ITB,
\nas the revered college is popularly known by its Indonesian
\nacronym, is not an ordinary college.<\/p>\n
It is not for nothing that President Soeharto addressed the
\ngathering of the ITB alumni association at the State Palace on
\nTuesday. It is a recognition of the role that ITB and its alumni
\nhas played in society in the 77 years of its existence, and is
\nexpected to continue playing into the next century.<\/p>\n
ITB, founded in 1920 by the Dutch colonial government, is more
\nthan a place for young people to study technology, although that
\nis one of its chief missions. It is much more than a center of
\nexcellence, although this too is undoubtedly one of its visions.<\/p>\n
ITB is also much more than an institute that has consistently
\nsupplied many of the country's past and present leaders in all
\nwalks of life, including in politics and business. Topping the
\nITB's hall of fame is no other than Insinyur (Engineer) Sukarno,
\nthe country's first president. Presently, 11 out of the 40
\nmembers of President Soeharto's cabinet are ITB graduates.<\/p>\n
Given the contribution that its alumni have given to the
\ndevelopment of Indonesia, including in the struggle for
\nindependence in the 1940s, ITB has become an institution.<\/p>\n
Many old ITB graduates returned to Bandung this week to touch
\nbase with their alma mater. They met and discussed what role the
\ncollege should play in society in the third millennium. The
\nquestion that was asked now is, can ITB maintain the role that it
\nhas played, and can it keep its tradition in these changing
\ntimes?<\/p>\n
The rapid growth of private universities, some of them with
\nfinancial clout, no doubt will challenge the position of ITB and
\nother state-run colleges like University of Indonesia which have
\ndominated the academic scene in Indonesia. ITB can no longer take
\nfor granted its leading position. It will probably become one of
\nmany centers of excellence in Indonesia, which is a healthy and
\nwelcomed development for the country.<\/p>\n
There is one tradition in ITB however that seems to have
\ndisappeared: Campus politics. ITB had been known in the past as a
\nhotbed of student politics. The young Sukarno did much of his
\npolitical reading and debating during his days in Bandung in the
\n1920s. Many of his political visions and concepts that he applied
\nduring his presidency were developed there. ITB students were
\nalso in the thick of things during the student demonstrations in
\n1966 which, ironically, led to the downfall of Sukarno.<\/p>\n
Some of the current political leaders who hail from ITB used
\ntheir campus as a springboard to launch their political careers.
\nAfter Sukarno's downfall, college life throughout Indonesia
\ncontinued to be restless in the early years of the New Order
\nuntil the heavy military clamp down to quell student revolts in
\n1978. Life in campuses has never been the same since then. A few
\nyears later, traditional campus politics, as they were known
\nthen, vanished with the introduction of the government's
\nnormalization of campus life in all universities in the country.
\nCampuses are strictly for studying, and any politicking should be
\nconducted outside.<\/p>\n
As the ITB alumni gathered in Bandung and as they elected
\ntheir new leader this week, these questions were begging: With
\nthe present academic environment, can ITB continue to furnish the
\ncountry with its future political leaders? Are we not depriving
\nthe nation of one of its traditional sources of political
\nleaders?<\/p>\n
The answers will be clear in a few years time when the new
\ncrop of young politicians begin to emerge. But then can we really
\ntake this risk at a time when good leadership is becoming scarce
\nin this country? Will ITB be content with only supplying
\ntechnocrats, technologists, engineers and artists, but not
\npolitical leaders, to the community that has nurtured it?<\/p>\n
The greatest service that the ITB alumni, especially those who
\nare in positions of power and influence, can give to their old
\ncollege is to help maintain ITB's tradition that has made it one
\nof the greatest higher learning institutes in the country.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/no-ordinary-college-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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