Universities are spaces for the production of knowledge, critique,\nand reflection. When this function is weakened, society loses the\ncapacity to understand change, let alone correct it. Yogyakarta (ANTARA)\n- Wisnu Setiadi Nugroho, economist at the Faculty of Economics and\nBusiness, Universitas Gadjah Mada (FEB UGM), stated that the\ngovernment\u2019s plan to close a number of study programmes that are not\nrelevant to economic needs is a decision that ignores the dynamics of\nthe future.<\/p>\n
\u201cHigher education is not a workshop for training workers for\nindustry. Closing study programmes simply because they do not align with\ntoday\u2019s market tastes is a myopic decision that ignores the dynamics of\nthe future,\u201d Wisnu said in a statement in Yogyakarta, on Friday.<\/p>\n
According to Wisnu, universities should not function as a factory\nproducing labour to order, but as an institution that shapes people with\nthe ability to think, adapt, and create.<\/p>\n
Higher education, he said, should be a compass that guides\ncivilisation, not merely a weather vane turning with the direction of\nthe economy.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we continue to impose the market logic as the sole measure of\nrelevance, what will be produced is not a generation prepared to face\nthe future, but a generation trained for the past,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Wisnu said that policies to close prodi with few takers or not\nrelevant to industry do not stop at economic aspects. Entrusting the\ndirection of higher education entirely to the market means ignoring the\nsocial and political functions of the campus.<\/p>\n
\u201cHigher education is a space for the production of knowledge,\ncritique, and reflection. When this function is weakened, society loses\nthe capacity to understand change, let alone correct it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He noted that if success is determined only by short-term job\nabsorption, fields contributing to long-term development, including\nculture, critical thinking, and basic research, will be increasingly\nmarginalised.<\/p>\n
In fact, a country able to endure disruption is one that has the\ncapacity for reflection and innovation, not merely a supplier of\ncompliant labour.<\/p>\n
Wisnu cited a McKinsey & Company report predicting that up to 30\nper cent of global work activity could be automated by 2030. If\nuniversities focus only on technical skills that are in vogue, the\ngraduates produced risk becoming quickly irrelevant.<\/p>\n
Conversely, the skills that endure across ages are fundamental skills\nsuch as critical thinking, analytical ability, communication, and social\nunderstanding.<\/p>\n
Data from the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE)\nconsistently show that competencies such as problem solving,\ncommunication, and teamwork are always at the top of employers\u2019 needs,\nsurpassing specific technical skills.<\/p>\n
\u201cIndeed, these fundamental skills are precisely what are honed\nsystematically in the basic sciences, humanities, and social\nsciences\u2014fields often positioned as unmarketable study programmes,\u201d said\nthe Secretary of the Department of Economics at FEB UGM.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ugm-closure-of-some-study-programmes-deemed-irrelevant-ignores-future-dynamics-1779542154", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }