Minister Fadli Zon: Affirmation of STEM Education is Appropriate

Minister of Culture Fadli Zon stated that the government’s policy of affirming STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education is already appropriate. He made this assertion while attending the National Symposium of Professors (SNGB) in the Humanities at the Faculty of Humanities, University of Indonesia, in Depok, West Java, on Tuesday. “I think the affirmation of STEM is indeed correct. And many humanities disciplines nowadays cannot be separated from STEM either,” he said. He explained that STEM education requires affirmation because, unlike the humanities, it does not yet have a large pool of experts. He noted that faculties or universities related to the humanities or social and political sciences are already numerous, so they do not require affirmation. “Indeed, STEM needs affirmation, such as Mathematics, science, engineering, and technology. Compared to other countries, we are lagging behind, so we need a push for rocket experts, missile experts, mathematicians, quantum physicists, and others, because we have to catch up,” he said. Fadli stated that in the fields of humanities, social sciences, arts, religion, and economics, Indonesia is already very strong. “So, I don’t see any contradiction. What is clear is that STEM is the one that needs affirmation,” he said. Meanwhile, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities Untung Yuwono said the SNGB Humanities discussed the position of the humanities itself. “We will discuss the developing discourse, such as the attention being limited only to STEM,” he said. According to him, the symposium will attempt to discuss this matter and then produce a policy brief or policy recommendations to be submitted to the Ministry of Culture in order to strengthen the position of the humanities within the context of science and its application in society. Professors in the field of humanities from across Indonesia discussed various developments in humanities scholarship to reach conclusions and examine the current interaction between the humanities and STEM fields.