RI to partner with foreign universities

RI to partner with foreign universities

Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The government is drafting a regulation to allow foreign learning
institutions to open branches in Indonesia, in order to improve
the quality of the country's human resources.

Aji Sukmo, a senior official of the Ministry of National
Education, said on Thursday, that higher learning institutions
that require huge capital, such as polytechnics, would be among
the first to open branches here.

Currently, foreign learning institutions are not allowed to
enter into partnership with local institutions, but some have
established twin programs with overseas universities.

Universities, however, will be excluded from the regulation.
According to Aji, foreign institutions may only control 50
percent of local universities.

He also said big cities like Jakarta, Bandung, and Yogyakarta
will become the first places where foreign learning institutions
can set up branches.

"The plan can help improve the quality of the country's human
resource, reduce the number of Indonesian students studying
overseas and improve the quality of local universities," Aji
said.

It was not clear if the foreign learning institutions involved
will adopt Indonesia's curriculum or will be allowed to implement
their own curriculum.

Tens of thousands of Indonesians, particularly those coming
from wealthy families, are studying overseas, including the
United States, Canada, Australia, and neighboring Singapore and
Malaysia.

Indonesians contribute US$25 million per year to Australian
universities alone by studying there.

Aji did not say when the policy would be implemented.

So far, the United States, China, Japan, Korea, Australia and
New Zealand have shown interest in providing branches for higher
and adult education here.

"But, only foreign institutions recognized by their respective
governments will be allowed to establish their schools here," Aji
said.

Under the newly endorsed education law, Indonesia will open
its basic, middle, and high levels of education to foreign
institutions that are accredited by their respective governments.

Indonesia's education institutions, particularly universities,
rank among the worst in Asia.

However, a number of universities have expressed fears that
the planned branches will finish them due to an increase in
competition.

Another speaker Armida S. Alisjahbana from the University of
Padjajaran, Bandung, West Java said Indonesia should learn from
Malaysia in expanding its education sector.

"They invited well-known foreign universities to establish
their universities in Malaysia at a similar level to the original
universities," she said.

"Malaysia opened its education fields -- business, information
technology, science, and engineering, for example -- to achieve
its goal to become an advanced country in 2020."

She agreed with the planned expansion of the education sector,
saying that it would meet the demand for higher education at an
international standard.

This would also encourage local universities to reach higher
standards, as they would be forced to compete with the foreign
education institutions, she said.