UI to use English as medium of instruction

The University of Indonesia (UI) is planning to use English as a medium of instruction beginning the 2005/06 academic year as part of an effort to boost its competitiveness in the globalized world, UI Rector Usman Chatib Warsa said.

"We feel we are not that competent in English now. So, to boost our presence in the global context we will make English a medium of instruction beginning in the 2005/6 academic year," Usman said during a ceremony to mark the university's 55th anniversary in Depok on Sunday.

According to UI spokeswoman Henny Widyadingsih, the preparations for the use of English as a medium of instruction started in 2002 when a number of the university's schools signed collaboration deals with several universities overseas for teaching staff exchange programs.

The overseas universities involved include Singapore's Nanyang University and several universities in Malaysia.

She also said that all UI lecturers would take English proficiency tests, followed by English courses.

The subjects to be taught in English would be determined by each school, with priority being given to subjects related to international affairs, such as the international communications course offered by the School of Communications.

The program would start to be rolled out in early 2006, the second semester of the 2005/6 academic year.

Usman also said the UI was planning to increase the salaries and allowances offered to lecturers and staff to improve overall quality of service.

"We are planning to increase staff salaries and provide more incentives for lecturers. Starting 2006, the university will strive to pay lecturers and professors salaries ranging from Rp 5 million to around Rp 10 million," he said.

The current salaries offered to lecturers and professors at UI range between Rp 2 million and Rp 3 million.

It is hoped that the planned salary and allowances increase will improve the attitudes and morale of staff and lecturers so that they will jettison the old, passive civil service style and become dynamic and active educational service providers, Usman said.

To ensure the success of the plan, the university had prepared a funding mechanism as part of its budget.

"One-third of the university's budget comes from student tuition fees, one third from research and the remaining one-third from the government subsidy," he said.

"However, the government, which is supposed to provide one- third of our budget, is only actually paying around one fifth of what we need. To cover the shortfall, we look for extra money by conducting research and building cooperation with the private sector."

According to Usman, high tax on donations hinders the private sectors from donating money to the university and other state- backed educational institutes.

"The high rate of tax makes them reluctant to donate to the university. Universities abroad rarely face this kind of problem," he said.

Usman said UI and other state universities were holding discussions with the Ministry of Finance with a view to finding a solution to the problem.

"We are also proposing the setting up of a research grant scheme as part of the effort to improve the competitiveness of our researchers," said Usman. (001)