Prospects for Internet-based learning in Indonesia<\/p>\n
Sidatajudi, Surabaya<\/p>\n
I once read an article written by a local education activist
\nproposing the nationwide adoption of Internet-based distance
\nlearning to help provide quality tertiary education at a low cost
\nfor those living in small towns. Although the idea is very noble,
\nthere are some very serious challenges that need to be addressed
\nbefore we can see Web-based distance learning offered by
\nIndonesian colleges and universities.<\/p>\n
The first challenge is, of course, the availability of a
\nmarket for this service. Many universities in the northern
\nhemisphere, where most of the developed countries are located,
\nexcept perhaps Australia and New Zealand, offer Web-based
\nlearning because they have a big potential market for the
\nservice. These countries, especially the English-speaking ones,
\nhave for many years been the destinations for thousands of
\nstudents wishing to obtain the kind of quality education they
\ncannot find in their homelands.<\/p>\n
These students, along with others who wish they could afford
\nto study overseas, are a huge and lucrative market for Web-based
\nlearning, which is a lower-cost alternative that still offers the
\nopportunity to combine \"global vision\" with \"local knowledge\".
\nThis \"global vision, local knowledge\" mind-set is also the reason
\nthe main target of many Web-based services is working
\nprofessionals who wish to leverage their skills by pursuing a
\nsecond degree while keeping their day jobs.<\/p>\n
Those living in small towns in Indonesia do not seem to
\nconstitute this kind of market yet. There are not many working
\nexecutives who wish to get a second degree among them, and the
\nhigh school graduates have very few reasons to stay in the towns
\nand take Web-based distance learning, as these towns do not hold
\nmany jobs for them upon the completion of their studies.<\/p>\n
The fact that those living in bigger towns and cities can
\nconveniently attend regular day or evening classes, and that
\nIndonesian colleges and universities have not been the
\ndestination for many foreign students, would only leave any
\ninstitution offering Web-based learning scrambling for a niche
\nmarket. And, as in any business, a small-scale market will not
\nenjoy the benefit of low cost, which is the purpose of Web-based
\nlearning in the first place.<\/p>\n
Another serious challenge is the telecommunications and
\nInternet infrastructure in Indonesia. It is common knowledge that
\nthe telecom costs in Indonesia are among the highest in the
\nworld. Many years ago, even before the era of Internet Protocol
\n(IP) telephony, a phone call from the U.S. to Surabaya, which was
\nrelayed via Jakarta, was cheaper than one from Jakarta to
\nSurabaya. And unlike telecom carriers in many developed countries
\nthat charge a lump sum for local calls, regardless of usage, PT
\nTelkom -- the state-owned telecom monopoly in Indonesia --
\ncharges by minutes of usage. The more we use the phone to access
\nthe Internet, the bigger our phone bill will be. The recent price
\nhike only makes it worse.<\/p>\n
To cut costs, naturally, people turn to ISP's that offer a
\nlarge bandwidth, which means faster downloads. Unfortunately,
\nbandwidth is not cheap and these ISP's do not charge on a lump
\nsum basis either. When they do, only corporations can afford to
\npay for it, as the amount is way beyond the reach of household
\nusers. Furthermore, these ISP's only provide their services in
\nbig cities.<\/p>\n
It is true that we have Telkomnet Instan, but this is not a
\ngood alternative. Despite its existing network that covers many
\ncities and towns, its bandwidth is simply not adequate.
\nDownloading a 700-kilobyte Portable Document Format (PDF), which
\nis equivalent to 15 A4 pages, using Telkomnet Instan takes on
\naverage 20 minutes. As Telkom charges Rp 165 per minute, or
\nroughly Rp 10,000 per hour, excluding VAT, downloading these 15
\nA4 pages is more expensive that making a Xerox copy of them,
\nwhich only costs Rp 150 per page. The cost of paper and ink to
\nmake hard copies of these downloads is not included in the price
\ncomparison.<\/p>\n
The last, but definitely not the least, of the challenges is
\nthe issue of copyright protection and credit card fraud in
\nIndonesia. Our reputation for copyright infringement is so widely
\nknown in the world that if you want to take a music exam locally
\nfrom an internationally acclaimed London-based school of music,
\nyou must prove that you have an original copy of their exam book
\nwith your name on it, in ink. People have not yet fully
\nunderstood that each and every copy of a textbook, even in
\nelectronic form, must be paid for.<\/p>\n
The most convenient way to pay for downloading copyright-
\nprotected files is by credit card. But how can we enjoy this
\nconvenience when only a few companies on the Internet are willing
\nto take the risk of accepting our credit cards? An American
\ninstitution that has many students in Surabaya taking its
\ndistance learning postgraduate management program had to open an
\noffice here to securely receive payments and to save the students
\nthe hassle of having to make an international wire transfer.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, as the idea of providing a quality
\neducation for those living in small towns is noble, we have to
\nthink of ways to get around these challenges. Before we pursue
\nthis goal on a grand scale, it is a good idea to start small. For
\ninstance, we could start with Internet-based nonformal,
\nnontertiary education. This service must also be free of charge
\nand contain no copyright-protected material.<\/p>\n
One easy example that comes to mind is a Web service that
\nprovides regularly updated information on the best practices for
\nsmall and medium-sized businesses. Anybody running a home
\nindustry or a distribution shop could learn some management
\nlessons from this homepage. It might also contain success stories
\nof the best run cooperative(s) in Indonesia. Business tips and
\ndos\/don'ts would be useful as well. Hopefully, the free content
\nwould justify the cost of the Internet connection.<\/p>\n
Who, then, should offer this service and provide the content?
\nAny educational institution that offers management\/accounting
\nmajors would be qualified to do this. Internally developed
\nmaterials would ensure that the content could be distributed
\nfreely, without any copyright concerns.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, only the government can -- but is so far not
\nwilling to -- solve the problem of our telecommunications and
\nInternet infrastructure. Although the government has deregulated
\nthis sector to break the current state of monopoly, what we will
\nhave in the future is still a heavily regulated oligopoly, not a
\ntruly free market-driven industry.<\/p>\n
The writer works as a sales manager for an air-conditioning
\ncompany in Surabaya.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/prospects-for-internet-based-learning-in-indonesia-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}