Thesis no longer mandatory at UI

Thesis no longer mandatory at UI

JAKARTA (JP): The rector of the University of Indonesia, M.K. Tadjuddin, says he is in favor of reducing study time by scrapping the obligation for undergraduate students to write a thesis.

The obligation to prepare a thesis has cost students more time than necessary in completing their studies, he told reporters Wednesday.

"Indonesian students spend five to six years or more to finish their studies, while students overseas generally take only three to four years," he said.

"No wonder people who have studied abroad have already become company managers, while their Indonesian equivalents have only started work and maybe become their clerks," he added.

Tadjuddin made the remarks after signing a memorandum of understanding with French Ambassador Thierry de Beauce on a new magisterial management program to start this year.

The University of Indonesia has dropped the obligation for its undergraduate students, after reaching the required level of credits, to write a thesis before they can take their final exams.

"It is fine if they write a thesis, but it will no longer effect their grade," he said. Undergraduates who do not write a thesis can also take master programs if they are able to fulfill the requirements, he added.

He argued that it is unrealistic for students to be graduated as scientists merely on the basis of their having written a thesis. "That's impossible. If they want to be scientists, they can take a master program."

The rector disagrees with the argument that the policy of scrapping the thesis requirement will create lower levels of expertise.

Experience in other countries has shown that students who did not write a thesis are doing fine concerning employment and they finish their studies earlier, he said. (ste)