Indonesian universities at the crossroads

Indonesian universities at the crossroads

Two unrelated events, the brawls at a Jakarta university and
the sacking of a well-known university lecturer in Salatiga, have
turned our attention to university life. Noted educator Mochtar
Buchori argues that the events are symptoms of a lack of robust
academic culture at the universities in Indonesia.

JAKARTA (JP): The sacking of Dr. Arief Budiman of Satya Wacana
Christian University in the Central Java town of Salatiga and the
physical clash between two groups of students at National
University in Jakarta constitute two events whose implications
are very critical for the future of university life in Indonesia.

Much depends upon the way we solve these two problems. We will
either strengthen the academic culture within our universities,
or we will reduce our universities into institutions without real
academic meaning.

In my opinion, these two events stem essentially from one
fundamental problem: The lack of a robust academic culture in our
universities. For a long time now, the academic culture has
either been weakened, or has never really blossomed at our
universities. This situation has been a source of similar
problems in the past. And if we fail to remedy it, similar
incidents will happen again in the future.

Let us look more closely at each of these two events.

I do not really know what the actual substance of the dispute
is that caused the "short circuit" at Satya Wacana University.
But judging from the wide support which Arief Budiman has
received from both his colleagues and his students, I think that
he represents the views, opinions and attitudes of a fairly large
segment of the Satya Wacana family in this dispute. It is quite
unlikely that he is just fighting for personal gain in this case.

The existence of a crevasse among segments of a university
community, caused by either disagreement, or misunderstanding, is
a common phenomenon. In a university with a firmly established
academic culture, differing views are first recognized, and
subsequently scrutinized and harnessed to become a source of
learning dynamics. In such a place, no academic conflict is
silenced by the use of executive, or managerial power. Such a
practice indicates only that the institution has not yet
succeeded in establishing a solid academic base for its
institutional life.

It should be noted here that the dishonorable discharge of a
member of an academic staff is not an ordinary event. How many
persons have been discharged like Arief Budiman in the history of
university life in Indonesia? It is, therefore, very deplorable
that such an unusual event was likened to the firing of a driver.
This view reflects a total incomprehension of the nature of
academic life.

Firing a senior member of the academic staff is in my opinion
indicative of an immature academic culture. In most universities
this immaturity has been expressed through less dramatic events,
such as withholding a person's academic promotion, or blocking a
person to receive a scholarship to pursue advanced study abroad.
Steps like this have been commonly employed to punish persons
considered too independent in their academic or political
pronouncements.

The second event, the physical clash at National University in
Jakarta between students belonging to the Himpala nature lovers'
group on the one hand, and those belonging to the Menwa student
regiment group on the other, is also indicative of the absence of
a strong academic culture. The Himpala group represents an
adventurers' culture. The Menwa group represents military
culture.

It is the lack of a strong academic culture within the
university, which in my opinion effectively averts the growth of
a harmonious blending between the two cultures of masculinity and
physical toughness. Instead, rivalry has developed quietly, and
it was only a matter of time before the two clashed.

The question we have to answer is: How can we strengthen the
academic culture within our universities?

I don't think there is a general formula for answering this
question. Each university has to find its own path towards a more
mature academic culture, taking into consideration factors
regarding itself and factors relating to its various
environments.

The way we take to solve these two problems will indicate the
extent to which we understand the meaning of academic culture,
and its role in empowering our universities to become meaningful
institutions.

The writer is rector of the Muhammadiyah Teachers' Training
Institute (IKIP), Jakarta.

Protest -- Page 2

Editorial -- Page 4