Hardiknas, Academics: Direction of Education Must Drive Improvement in Human Resource Quality

Progress of the nation is greatly determined by a strong education system, from the family environment to formal channels.

Makassar (ANTARA) - Academic from Universitas Muslim Indonesia (UMI) Makassar, Dr Hadawiah Harita, stated the importance of education policy direction focused on improving the quality of Human Resources (HR) in Indonesia.

“The progress of the nation is greatly determined by a strong education system, starting from the family environment to formal channels,” said Hadawiah in Makassar on Saturday.

According to her, an intelligent society emerges from quality education, not from granting privileges or special treatment to parties lacking competence in the world of education or the workforce.

On National Education Day (Hardiknas), she also highlighted the limited space for academics to contribute ideas to national policies. Even criticisms voiced are often misinterpreted as expressions of hatred rather than constructive input.

She assessed that policies on closing study programmes deemed not aligned with industry needs should be reviewed. This is because various industrial sectors still require HR from diverse academic disciplines.

A similar view was expressed by academic from Universitas Hasanuddin, Dr Nuvida Raf, who hopes the government can position education as the primary foundation.

She expressed concern over the current situation where the role of academics is seen as increasingly sidelined. Contributions of thought from the campus community are said to receive little space in national policymaking.