Private universities

Private universities

From Kompas

Only about 10 to 15 percent of senior high school graduates can be admitted to government universities annually. Some of the remaining graduates may go to private universities, many study abroad and still others find employment or just do nothing.

It is a hard fact for students as the first year at a private university costs Rp 4 million to Rp 12 million, compared to Rp 450,000 to Rp 800,000 for government universities (Kompas, Aug. 26, 1994).

We realize that the private universities and the government go hand in hand to educate people which will in turn enhance the quality of the human resources. But how can the common people afford a private university education? It is also the practice of the private university to take in as many as 2,000 students in one faculty, despite the fact that it has several faculties. We hope that the university will give greater emphasis to quality rather than quantity. The money collected from the students should not be appropriated only for constructing new buildings but also for enhancing the quality of the lecturers by giving them the opportunity to take postgraduate programs or courses.

I also would like the Ministry of Education and Culture to apply the real estate system, in which every developer is required to build simple houses and very simple houses. In the case of university education, the private universities should be required to receive bright students and charge them only one 10th the cost paid by ordinary students. By doing so the people with marginal funds can also benefit from the existence of the private universities.

The private universities should not become too commercialized and neglect their responsibility to educate the people.

F. PUDYANTO S.

Jakarta