'Close down unlicensed colleges'

Police have declared the Institut Managemen Global Indonesia as an illegal institution and detained its owner and board members. Police are also going after people who have received diplomas from the institute, which has operated in Indonesia since 2000 and opened branches in several towns across the country. The Jakarta Post interviewed residents on who should be held responsible for the fiasco.

Susi, 31, is a resident of Setu village, Serpong district, Tangerang. He works as a marketing staff in a car showroom on Jl. Sudirman, Central Jakarta.

Rumors about universities or other educational institutions issuing diplomas illegally are not new. Many people already know of such universities.

I hope newspaper reports about fake diplomas will warn people to be careful in selecting educational institutions.

If you ask me about who should be held responsible for phony educational institutions, I would say that many parties contribute to the problem. People, who want to get diplomas easily, will push for the establishment of non-credible educational institutions.

On the other hand, relevant government institutions including the Ministry of National Education also do nothing to stop such practices.

I agree with the police crackdown on illegal educational institutions, but the relevant offices must also stop the operation of such institutions.

Ardi, 35, lives in Bintaro Jaya housing complex, Tangerang regency. He is working for a private company on Jl. Rasuna Said, South Jakarta.

I hope that police will seriously investigate illegal educational institutions. I think they have cheated the public.

I believe that not all students who go to such institutions want to get a fake diploma.

Many of them may really want to have a regular education. They are victims of such institutions.

The Ministry of National Education must monitor all educational institutions that have been allowed to run such programs.

As for those who received the fake diplomas, police must not treat them as criminals because they may be victims.

I hope that extensive reports on fake diplomas will warn people to be careful in selecting universities.

--The Jakarta Post