Why selling degrees still thrives in Indonesia
Why selling degrees still thrives in Indonesia
By Nirwan Idrus
JAKARTA (JP): A few weeks ago a flattering facsimile came,
citing my experience, qualifications and positions and said that
I deserve a Doctor Honoris Causa from the sender's institution
which I did not recognize. It also said that a decision on
acceptance had to be made immediately as graduation would occur
within a couple of days of the fax arrival. Oh, yes, also please
don't forget to send Rp 1 million if you wish to accept the
offer.
Although most people do not use the title of their honoris
causa, in Indonesia many do. By its name, such a "degree" is only
an honor to the recipient, perhaps because of his or her position
either in government, or in society or for some community
service.
Anyway, perhaps because I had already earned a PhD from a
reputable international university, the invitation found its way
to the wastepaper basket. But it would be understandable if some
people did consider sending Rp 1 million in the next couple of
days to be awarded the Doctor Honoris Causa.
But there are of course "degree factories" out there which
churn out their products to get maximum profits. And why not, if
the demand is there anyway. This indeed is the crux of the
matter. As long as there is demand, there shall be supply, such
is the natural law of the market.
Such a situation is normally exacerbated by debilitating
economic conditions and unrealistic competitions for jobs and
positions. In such a case therefore, those at the bottom rung of
the qualifications ladder will always lose out in their pursuit
for better jobs and better positions.
It is also not unrealistic to suggest that one of the reasons
why those at the bottom of the qualifications ladder are there,
is because of their lack of academic ability or at least a
perception of such.
The size of the population, the limited number of "good" jobs
and the need to have good jobs for survival have resulted in an
unrealistic level of competition, that further erodes the self-
confidence of those who resort to buying their degrees.
Hence we have taxi drivers with a university degree, we see a
hotel porter with a university degree, we have receptionists with
degrees and so on.
Of course it is very difficult to eliminate extrinsic
influences; influences that we cannot control or modify.
* It is not your fault that the country has such a large
population.
* It is not your fault if your parents could not send you to
the best kindergarten, the best primary and secondary schools.
* It is not your fault if you can't get into a prestigious
university because your parents can't gather enough money to
bribe the right university officials.
So what do you think when you find out that the so called
prestigious university you aspired to be your alma mater is ill-
equipped, and the full-time lecturers nowhere to be found on a
working day because they are busy doing unrelated consulting jobs
off campus, lining their pockets at the expense of the students?
One can easily understand why you might be thinking: Why not just
buy a degree?
However, not all reasons are uncontrollable. It is no secret
that we in Indonesia are over regulated. There are too many PPs
(Peraturan Pemerintah; government regulation), SKs (Surat
Keputusan; decision paper) and Kepres (Keputusan Presiden;
presidential decree) on things which are really not even
controllable.
Three years after reformasi and a new democratically elected
government, the government still insists on controlling private
institutions, through rules which simply do not make sense or
that treat its citizens as if they were mentally impaired.
In The Jakarta Post of June 7 ("More private universities
prepare doctorate programs") it was reported that government
rules require private universities which desire to offer a PhD
(S3) program comply with a number requirements, including a
stipulated number of full-time scholars in the particular area of
research.
One wonders whether the named Ministry of National Education
officers understand what an S3 or claimed PhD equivalent degree
is. The success or failure of a research degree candidate depends
on the candidate rather than a battery of professors whose full-
time status is suspect anyway.
It is time for the ministry and the government to treat people
as adults. In general, people are not as silly and stupid as the
bureaucrats think them to be. Why not adopt a hands-off policy
and let the private institutions and the people to do what they
have to do.
The fact that the business of selling degrees is still
thriving in Indonesia is not because private institutions and
citizens have nothing else to do.
One logical and more plausible reason is that the system, in
this case the public service system, is providing a condition
that encourages this malpractice.
If the system had kept up with the times and measured
performance rather than the number of "certificates" a public
servant collected in order to get promoted -- the so called kum
system -- we would have one less problem.
If Indonesia is serious about being democratic, about adopting
a free-market stance and about being prepared for the free-trade
era, then it must seriously look into changing its governance
role from control to provision of conducive environments.
It must let its citizens decide for themselves what action
they wish to take and then take the responsibility for it. Caveat
Emptor -- let the buyer beware -- should be the only declaration
that the government makes to help its citizens protect themselves
from the ravages of unscrupulous operators, including those who
sell degrees.
The writer is executive director of IPMI Graduate School of
Business in Jakarta.