Resignations to harm Satya Wacana<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Education and Culture Wardiman
\nDjojonegoro has expressed concern over the mass resignation of
\nlecturers from the trouble-laden Satya Wacana Christian
\nUniversity in Salatiga, Central Java.<\/p>\n
Wardiman said yesterday that the incident may disrupt classes
\nand harm the private university's standing in the academic
\ncommunity.<\/p>\n
After sending off a team of naturalists to Maluku and
\nSulawesi, Wardiman said he had not received any news of the
\nnumber of teachers who resigned in a show of solidarity for
\nexpelled scholar Arief Budiman.<\/p>\n
\"Unless there are new teachers to replace them, this will
\nsurely affect the quality of this school,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Fifty staff lecturers claim to have submitted their
\nresignations in the latest incident of three years of university
\ntension.<\/p>\n
However, the university's rector, JOI Ihalau, said only 20
\nhave resigned, not 50 as reported.<\/p>\n
The protesting lecturers belong to a \"pro-democracy group\"
\nwhich has spent three years fighting the appointment of Ihalau as
\nrector. The most outspoken of the group was sociologist Arief
\nBudiman, who was then dismissed by Ihalau for allegedly ignoring
\nseveral disciplinary warnings.<\/p>\n
Following a riot on campus between students and administrators
\nlast September, many from the group were suspended and had their
\nsalaries cut by 20 percent.<\/p>\n
A truce, brokered by the foundation that owns the college and
\nprominent Protestant leaders, was signed in November in which
\nboth sides agreed to work to a satisfactory settlement.<\/p>\n
However, the lecturers chose to resign, saying they could not
\naccept the university's terms for returning to work.<\/p>\n
Director of Private Higher Education Joetata Hadihardaja also
\nexpressed his dismay with the development and the effect it may
\nhave on the university's accreditation level.<\/p>\n
\"The ministry will have to review its accreditation of the
\nuniversity,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Satya Wacana, one of the country's most prestigious private
\nuniversities, is known for its prominent scholars whose columns
\nand critiques often fill local publications.<\/p>\n
The expedition launched yesterday by Wardiman is a five-month
\nvoyage on a traditional sailing boat retracing the route of the
\n19th century English naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace when he
\nvisited the archipelago. He spent eight years in eastern
\nIndonesia, from 1854 to 1862, observing the region's wildlife.<\/p>\n
The team will be led by explorer-cum-filmmaker Tim Severin and
\nconsist of an environmentalist, a naturalist, an educational
\nprogrammer, a photographer and an artist.<\/p>\n
Attending the launching ceremony were Minister of Environment
\nSarwono Kusumaatmadja, and Ambassador J. Stapleton Roy of the
\nUnited States.<\/p>\n
The expedition's results will be shared with and studied in
\nprimary and secondary schools in Indonesia, Britain and the
\nUnited States. (31)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/resignations-to-harm-satya-wacana-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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