Home Affairs Ministry Partners with University of Indonesia to Boost Village Head Capacity

Minister of Home Affairs Muhammad Tito Karnavian stated this at the opening of the second batch of the Village Heads Enter Campus Programme at the Purnomo Hall, University of Indonesia, Depok, West Java, on Tuesday. Tito hopes the programme can broaden village heads’ horizons, particularly in management, leadership, innovation, and entrepreneurship, so they can optimally manage village potential. “I hope that by entering a campus like this, it can open the horizons of fellow village heads to be more innovative, creative, understand the basics of management, and have the ability to lead as formal leaders,” he said in a written statement. According to Tito, various government policies, such as Law Number 6 of 2014 on Villages, the establishment of a ministry handling village affairs, and the distribution of Village Funds, have encouraged the emergence of many developed and independent villages. Despite this, Tito reminded that challenges remain in village governance, including village heads who face legal issues due to weak administrative and financial management. “The number one problem is integrity,” he said. Tito stressed that village heads must understand government administration, village budget preparation, state financial management, and organisational leadership. Therefore, he affirmed that village heads need to continuously improve their capacity, integrity, and managerial skills to manage village governance professionally while encouraging local economic growth. The programme was attended by, among others, the University of Indonesia’s Vice Rector for Research, Innovation, Students, and Alumni Hamdi Muluk, UI academics, Director General of Village Governance at the Ministry of Home Affairs La Ode Ahmad Pidana Bolombo, Director General of Regional Administration at the Ministry of Home Affairs Safrizal ZA, and several related officials.