Counseling vital before studying in U.S: Expert
JAKARTA (JP): Young Indonesians who intend to pursue their education in the United States are strongly advised to seek proper counseling on the fields of study they intend to pursue.
An education expert yesterday said many Indonesian graduates returned from the U.S. finding that the skills and expertise they gained are inappropriate in this country.
This is largely because they left for America virtually unadvised, Kay Ikranagara, the Executive Director of the International Education Foundation, said.
Many Indonesians often decide to major in inappropriate fields of discipline because they seldom think about future employment upon their return to Indonesia, Ikranagara said.
"Many Indonesians study for the sake of studying abroad... or they may choose a certain college because there are many Indonesians in the neighborhood, or because the region has a warm climate," she said, citing several examples of the "wrong reasons" to study in the United States.
Earlier at a press conference at the Balai Pustaka building, Ikranagara discussed the upcoming "Sixth Annual U.S. University Fair" which is scheduled to be held on Oct. 17 at the Manggala Wanabakti building.
Representatives from 76 accredited U.S. universities will be on hand to introduce themselves to prospective students.
During the fair, university representatives will provide information on their programs and explain about the U.S. educational system and procedures for applying to U.S. universities.
A ceremony was also held yesterday to inaugurate the new office of the American-Indonesian Exchange Foundation (AMINEF) on the sixth floor of the Balai Pustaka building on Jl. Gunung Sahari.
Fulbright
AMINEF Executive Director A. Dahana explained that the foundation's main activities in Indonesia are the Fulbright Scholarship Exchange Program in humanitarian and social sciences and the Educational Advising Service.
Ikranagara believes Indonesia needs more graduates in applied, service-oriented sciences to fill managerial positions in companies, which, in many cases, are still occupied by foreigners. "I think there are already too many post-graduate engineering students," he added.
More than 10,000 Indonesian students are presently studying in the U.S. Most are graduate students studying business, management, engineering and computer sciences, but there are also a large number of undergraduate students.
Besides inappropriate choices of fields of discipline, Ikranagara acknowledged that many Indonesians also face language problems.
Combining the two, she said, often results in an extended period of study which is actually longer than necessary.
"After doing four years of a certain discipline and finding out that it is inapplicable in Indonesia, many students then go through another extra two years studying the 'right' field."
She said the university fair, which is expected to be visited by some 2,000 people, should help prevent such problems because it would facilitate conversation between prospective students or their parents and representatives of the universities. (pwn)