School accreditation not final, Wardiman says
YOGYAKARTA (JP): Minister of Education and Culture Wardiman Djojonegoro assured upset administrators and students of universities yesterday that even if their courses failed a recent accreditation program, they could still appeal.
Wardiman said that the results of an evaluation by the independent National Accreditation Board was not final, and did not sound a death toll for the schools.
The accreditation program's description of a course was only temporary and a different picture could emerge if the evaluation was conducted at another time.
Speaking at an open dialog with students of Yogyakarta's Art Institute of Indonesia (ISI Yogyakarta), Wardiman said failing the accreditation did not automatically mean the courses had to stop.
"Instead, they will be supervised so they can improve themselves and meet the standard."
The accreditation board recently announced through a ministerial decree that of about 1,400 courses it evaluated at more than 100 universities across the country, 36 could not be accredited due to poor quality. The 36 courses were operated by 31 universities, six of them state-run.
Seven of the 12 courses at ISI Yogyakarta failed the accreditation program. The courses include theatrical art, visual communication design, sculpture, puppet art, photography, musical art and television.
The ministerial decree provoked violent protest from the students. Benches and other campus facilities were burned, leaving a strew of debris.
Wardiman, who was on campus to inaugurate ISI's new rector I Made Bandem, was forced to hold an open dialog with the students in front of the institute's Gallery Building where the inauguration ceremony was earlier held.
Seeking to calm the students, Wardiman said the accreditation program would help improve the quality of education.
The accreditation board had set a certain standard to determine whether a particular course deserved accreditation, he added.
Director General of Higher Education Bambang Suhendro, who also attended yesterday's inauguration, told The Jakarta Post that the board had set Dec. 11 as the deadline for universities to send additional information about the courses that failed accreditation.
"If they meet the required score, they will be accredited. If they don't, they will not be accredited," he said.
The board consists of 17 permanent members and more than 50 panelists. Twelve regional working groups consisting of three to five members were also formed to help the board evaluate the schools in each of the 12 regions.
"There are about 10,000 courses across the country to be accredited. The job is supposed to be accomplished within five years," Bambang said, adding that each accreditation given by BAN is valid for five years. (swa/23)