More private universities prepare doctorate programs

By I. Christianto

JAKARTA (JP): Major private universities are competing to run postgraduate programs as the demand rises.

At least four private universities have recently been licensed to hold doctorate programs, which are locally called Strata Tiga (S3). The step is a milestone in the country's educational history. As recently as last year, people who want to pursue a doctorate degree must enroll at state-owned universities.

Starting this year, people wanting to take doctorate programs can consider four private universities: Parahyangan Catholic University (Unpar) in Bandung, the University of Gunadarma, the University of Borobudur and the University of Persada Indonesia (YAI) in Jakarta.

Unpar is the first private university to have opened postgraduate programs in four fields of study: civil engineering, law, architecture and economy. Gunadarma, Borobudur and YAI offer one field, which is economics. Gunadarma was founded in 1981 as a science and computer academy before it became a university.

Muherman Aslan, head of the licensing office of the Ministry of Education, said private universities originally proposed to hold doctorate programs a long time ago.

"The requirements are tough. They must have a board of relevant scholars," he said.

He said in addition to the four private universities, the government was examining several other educational institutions, including the University of Trisakti in Jakarta and Indonesian Islamic University (UII) in Yogyakarta.

Based on decree No. 212/U/1999 from the Ministry of Education, any educational institution proposing to hold doctorate programs are required to have an "A" grade for its bachelor programs as accredited by the National Accreditation Body for Universities (BAN PT). It also has to have a postgraduate program in the same or similar field of study with the proposed doctorate program.

The university should have records of research in the same or related field of study with the proposed doctorate program. It should have an adequate number of qualified scholars to partake in the doctorate program, which includes tutorials and research.

"There must be at least two permanent senior scholars with the same education or background of the proposed doctorate program. There has to be four doctors with the same field of study," said Muherman.

He also said the conditions were tough.

"A university wanting to open a doctorate program should submit correct and complete data, particularly in terms of the scholars they have. So say there is a proposal from a university, but it has only one senior professor -- we can't extend a license then," he said.

He said more people were now aware of the need for higher education; therefore, more private universities were proposing to offer doctorate programs.

There are 1,558 private higher learning institutes in Indonesia, including 283 universities, 42 institutes and 717 technical colleges.

Indonesia has 50 state universities, four state institutes and four state technical colleges. There are also dozens of private polytechnics and hundreds of academies.

In Indonesia, only schools under the category of university, institute and sekolah tinggi can hold bachelor (Strata satu or S1) and postgraduate programs (Strata dua or S2 and S3).

Raising interest

Hamdy Hady, head of the postgraduate program of YAI, agreed that more people were now interested in undertaking a higher education.

He said it was largely misunderstood that a doctorate degree is a ticket to success.

"Many professionals -- who have undertaken S2 programs -- also want to enroll for doctorate programs. They think that a doctorate degree can support their career in (commercial) businesses," he said.

"Sure, anyone can enroll, but doctorate degrees are for scholars. This is the highest academic degree. It's aimed in developing science and research."

Hady said YAI's only doctorate program is accountancy.

"We also plan to open another program focusing on general economy in the near future," he said.

To enroll at YAI's S3 program, a candidate is required to have a grade point average of at least 3.0 and a Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) score of at least 500.

"There's no limit for age. A background in education is not as important as there'll be matriculation," he said.

The tuition fee at YAI is about Rp 10 million per semester, while the S3 is normally completed in at least four semesters.

At Unpar, interested candidates also have to have a good academic record as well as fluency in English. Founded in 1955, Unpar has graduated over 20,000 students.

"We require a good TOEFL score, basically to support the research. But actually, the tutorial, seminar and dissertation will be in Indonesian," said Hasan Mustafa, head of the postgraduate program of Unpar.

He said Unpar did not set any target for the doctorate applicants.

"We'll hold the program even with only one single participant, because this is about quality not quantity," he said.

Tuition fee at Unpar is based on credit, ranging between Rp 400,000 and Rp 600,000. To complete a doctorate program, a participant must achieve 42 credits, including a 32-credit dissertation.