Search for ITB rector poses obstacles

By Nirwan Idrus

JAKARTA (JP): For whatever reason, we in Indonesia don't seem to like to know the way to do things -- the how. We seem to want to go straight to results. We seem to be saying to people who tell us to take process into account, to simply give us the template or the mold, and we will fit whatever it is that we need to do into that template or mould. After all, it is the result that is important, isn't it?

Of course nobody should blame us for this. We got this from the guys before us, and maybe those guys got it from those before them. Also, if it worked for them, why should it not work for us?

Well, we have been so busy getting straight to the results, we have even missed the fact that times have changed. Or perhaps we did not miss it, but we think we are still OK without having to worry about the how or the process. Let somebody else worry about it.

This appears to have happened in the selection of the chief executive (rector) of Indonesia's foremost university of technology, ITB.

It was refreshing to see an advertisement for the position of Rector of ITB in the newspapers a few weeks ago. One's hopes got elevated in one shot, as this had never happened in Indonesia to my recollection, not even in the case of private universities. That ITB made the lead was indeed a significant sign of change in higher education in this country. So it is understandable if we were euphoric about this. We could say, "Finally, we can see the light at the end of the tunnel".

Unfortunately, our bliss, euphoria and hopes were quickly dashed by a news report (The Jakarta Post Aug. 11) which said that the name of the selected ITB rector would be announced on Monday Aug. 13, following the closing date of Friday Aug. 10. This is an incredible feat for any organization to fulfill -- to finish a selection of a CEO of an organization in two calendar days, of which the working period is only half a day! In fact it is not only an incredible feat, but an impossible task for anybody, even ITB.

Aside from the impossibility of the task, one is quickly tempted to ask what sort of super process was devised for this important selection that could be finalized in half a day. Obviously, further evidence of getting to the result and ignoring the process. Are Indonesians so excellent that we can compress a process that takes leading international universities weeks, if not months, to complete, into half a day? In the vernacular, we Indonesians must be bloody good!

The same news report listed a number of names nominated by various groups of people. Maybe these groups know something that we don't. The names include former presidents Abdurrahman Wahid (Gus Dur), B.J. Habibie and House of Representatives Speaker Akbar Tandjung. There is also the possibility that while the management of ITB had enlightened themselves, they have not helped their faculty, staff and students who nominated these names to the Rector search committee, to comprehend the new approach. Hence their restricted scope or range of nominees, a typical legacy of the previous Old and New Order regimes.

There is no doubt that the position of Rector in this case especially of ITB, is highly critical, not only to the institution but to the process of change. The Rector is the employer of everybody who works in the institution. The Rector should have leadership, intellectual, management, creative and innovative skills, coupled with significant experience in industry. Why industry?, I hear you say. Elementary, really.

It is inevitable that future successful universities are those that operate as competitive businesses. Even in Indonesia, the signs of such intentions are already there. In the first instance, the government has already announced that four universities will gain autonomy by 2003, of which ITB is one. So is it not logical to have somebody with this appropriate experience already to lead our institution? It is not surprising, however, that there were vocal reactions to this. The expected, almost universal reaction in Indonesia to this is as follows: How can we afford such a person? As I mentioned before, in two words, prioritized funding.

The Ministry of National Education received about US$1 billion to the end of 1997 and more funding after that time, in various forms from funding agencies such as the Asian Development Bank (ADB), for projects which do not seem to have much impact on our higher education. Is it not appropriate to renegotiate with the funding agencies to reprioritize the funds for more urgent and useful projects, including appropriate remuneration for the best people as rectors of Indonesian universities? If these universities were to operate as successful businesses, then this investment would accrue returns that could be accounted for in real terms, unlike many of the projects that have received international agency funding.

This is only one of the numerous questions that have to be answered. It would have taken some time to sort out before even an advertisement for the position of Rector was appropriate to be placed in newspapers. To then spend only half a working day to select the appointee, is nothing less than a miracle. Then again, there have been many miracles in Indonesia anyway, so one more perhaps would not make much difference.

However, it would be a great pity if Indonesia loses this window of opportunity to improve its basic needs for a critical human resource that it badly needs to develop over the next 50 or so years.

The writer is Executive Director of the Indonesian Institute for Management Development (IPMI) in Jakarta.