UGM holds first election under autonomous campus program
UGM holds first election under autonomous campus program
Asip A. Hasani, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta
Following the lead of the Institute of Technology
(ITB) in Bandung and the North Sumatra University (USU) in Medan,
Gadjah Mada University, the oldest higher learning institution in
the country, is opening its top position to the public in
elections that are a first step towards becoming an autonomous
campus.
The position at the university in Yogyakarta is open to all
Indonesian citizens, especially academics, with experience in
private and state-run institutions, to submit their candidacy for
the rector position, according to university officials.
"The country's best sons are invited to run for the rector
position; we need educated and dedicated men and women to lead
the university," Prof. Koento Wibisono, chairman of the rector
election committee, said here on Tuesday.
The central government in its pilot project has granted the
freedom to ITB, UGM, the Bogor Institute of Agriculture (ITB),
the University of Airlangga in Surabaya, East Java, and the
University of Indonesia to hire their own teaching and
administrative staff, elect their own rector and manage their
finance in running their education programs.
Under the campus autonomy program, ITB has appointed
Kusmayanto Kardiman, who was elected by the institute's board of
trustees (MWA) as its first rector. USU, which has applied for
the campus autonomy, is also running a rector election process.
Koento said academics who are interested in running their
candidacy for UGM's rector position are invited to submit their
application to the election committee between Dec. 20, 2001 and
Jan. 26, 2002.
Asked about official requirements, he said applicants must be
Indonesians, healthy, both physically and mentally, with at least
three years of experience in a similar position.
"And a candidate linked to any political parties must be ready
to leave it if he or she is elected as new rector," he said.
Koento said that instead of being appointed by the education
minister, the university's next rectors would be elected by a 25-
member board of trustees representing university students,
government and teaching staff.
Before the election, which is scheduled for next March, the
board of trustees will select a group of candidates from those
nominated for the rectorate position, and all nominees would be
obliged to present their vision and programs.
"Being a rector of UGM in the autonomy era is a tough job,
yet we believe that we will find the best person who
will lead this university with 46,000 students and more than
2,500 lecturers," he said.