LLDIKTI IV urges universities in West Java-Banten to shift from saturated programmes

Bandung (ANTARA) - The Higher Education Service Agency (LLDIKTI) Region IV for West Java and Banten is urging universities to promptly transition or shift from saturated study programmes in order to curb the rate of intellectual unemployment.

Head of LLDIKTI Region IV, Dr Lukman, stressed that this step is not an extreme or sudden closure, but rather a warning for campuses to be more realistic in assessing job prospects for their graduates.

“We are only advising to move on or migrate. We must be realistic; there are many programmes where, upon graduation, students wonder where to work, while the job market is clearly non-existent,” said Lukman in Bandung on Sunday.

Furthermore, according to him, the dynamics of closing and opening programmes at a single campus is a common occurrence.

When met at the Pasundan University (Unpas) campus in Bandung on Saturday (9/5), LLDIKTI representatives requested that universities gradually transfer human resources (HR) and facilities from old programmes to new, more promising ones.

This statement also responds to signals from the Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Science, and Technology (Wamendiktisaintek) regarding the closure of programmes deemed irrelevant to industry needs.

“That means it is a warning to higher education institutions that have programmes with limited job opportunities. Universities should not just think about having HR and facilities, but must consider whether their students will have jobs after graduation,” he said.