Govt in quandary over long-distance classes

Leo Wahyudi S and Sri Wahyuni, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Yogyakarta

Though higher education remains unattainable for the majority of Indonesians, the government is forcing three reputable state universities and institute to shut down their long-distance learning services.

The Ministry of National Education has already suspended subsidies to Gadjah Mada University (UGM) and is threatening to impose similar sanctions on Padjajaran University over their refusal to close branch offices in Jakarta, which hold long- distance classes for graduate management degrees.

Apart from the two universities, a third state university, the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), recently acquiesced and agreed to close its long-distance class program.

The three universities under scrutiny opened long-distance classes in Jakarta which offer students graduate degrees in management.

Officials have expressed concern of a degradation of educational quality through long-distance classes which could taint the prestige of the state universities.

"There's a certain value to be preserved," Director General of Higher Education Satryo Soemantri Brodjonegoro said, adding that education programs should only be held on campus.

Knowledge, Satryo said, can be transferred anywhere but not the lecturers.

There is a fear that quality is compromised to a point where a student can boast credentials from a reputable university without ever setting foot on campus.

Minister of National Education Abdul Malik Fadjar stressed: "Doctorate and postgraduate programs should not be (pursued through) instant and careless processes."

He lamented the public perception of education merely as a social symbol rather than a spirit of enlightenment and knowledge.

The universities, however, contend they are merely trying to raise the overall quality of education and that extensive preparations are made to ensure quality was not compromised.

UGM rector Ichlasul Amal dismissed fears that long-distance learning could result in a drop in the quality of learning.

"The classes in Jakarta are equipped with teleconferencing devices, which can't be found on our campus here," Amal said in Yogyakarta.

Besides attending classes in Jakarta, participants of the long-distance program are required to turn up for particular seminars on the university's campus.

Since opening last August, the university's classes in Jakarta, situated in the Gondangdia area, Central Jakarta, have registered 100 participants.

Amal suggested that government officials visit and examine how the classes in Jakarta run before making any decision regarding the matter.

Rahmat Akbari, one of the graduate management degree students who attends the long-distance class run by UGM, said he found no problem with the quality of the program.

Rahmat, who is now a senior manager in a private media company, said that all the classes had been well-arranged and had good facilities.

"I have been attending the classes here on a regular basis and am being taught by qualified lecturers," he said, adding that he was using some of his free time to learn business ethics.

While UGM has been defying the government's call to close its classes in Jakarta, Padjajaran University and ITB, both based in Bandung, have agreed to close their long-distance classes.

ITB, nevertheless, asks the government to allow the current programs to run until their completion.

The institute is currently running six graduate programs in Jakarta, the capital of Riau, Pekanbaru, the East Kalimantan towns of Bontang and Samarinda, Cirebon and Cikarang in West Java and Surabaya, East Java.

ITB rector Kusmayanto Kadiman, nevertheless, expressed his concerns on Saturday, saying that he regretted the government had not provided clear signals in advance on which programs were acceptable or not.

The core of the issue, however, could be a combination of educational quality and competition.

There is the simple question of competition, where students could opt out of local universities and pursue graduate degrees from equally, if not more, reputable institutions.

"I'm not saying that there might be something behind the ban against long-distance classes. But it's certain that competition in Jakarta is very tight. The presence of our program has reduced participation in similar programs in other institutions, hasn't it?" UGM's Amal said.