Minister wants universities to pioneer nationalism drive
PALANGKA RAYA, Central Kalimantan (JP): Minister of Education and Culture Wardiman Djojonegoro is appealing to all universities in Indonesia to take a leading role in invigorating the people's sense of nationalism.
Speaking during a ceremony to induct a new rector at the Palangka Raya University here on Saturday, Wardiman said two factors are now dogging the nationalism of the Indonesian people.
On the one side, there is a strong current of globalization and on the other the are pressures towards chauvinism and sectarianism, he said. Unless Indonesia anticipates these trends, they could threaten the unity of the nation, he added.
Universities, as places where people from different backgrounds converge, and because of their far reaching influences on society, are ideal institutions to become the engine in the drive to enhance people's sense of nationalism.
Wardiman told The Jakarta Post that he regretted that the plan to establish a new association with a nationalistic outlook has fallen through. He said excessive media publicity helped to abort the plan.
The minister is a member of the Association of Islamic Intellectuals (ICMI), which because of the increasingly high profile of some of its members in the political field, has now been accused of fanning sectarian politics.
Wardiman denied the suggestion outright, stressing that the presence of ICMI showed pluralism which is a characteristic of Indonesia."And pluralism is our strength," he quipped.
Wardiman toured Central Kalimantan and later Central Java for various official engagements during the weekend.
New rectors
In Palangka Raya he inducted Ali Hasymi as the new rector of Palangka Raya University replacing Amris Makmur. He witnessed the signing of an agreement between local technical high schools and local industries for apprenticeship programs and inspected the province's preparations for the nine-year compulsory education program which begins next month.
In Semarang, capital of Central Java, the minister inducted Rasdi Ekosiswoyo as the new rector of the Semarang Teachers Training Institute (IKIP), replacing Retmono. He also held a dialog with the institute's students.
During the signing ceremony, Wardiman said that the government plans to build more vocational schools in the future because they are an alternative for parents who cannot afford to send their children to universities.
The cooperation of the business sector in providing apprenticeship is vital, he said.
He also acknowledged the difficulties faced by Central Kalimantan and similar large but sparsely populated provinces face in providing schools that run economically.
He said in the long run, it might be worth considering building boarding schools, so that the students do not have to spend too much time traveling to reach their schools.
Aspul Fansuri, head of Central Kalimantan's Education and Culture Office, said the main problem is that many people cannot afford education even though the government has made it free. (11)