New rector vows to stop violence at IPDN

Yuli Tri Suwarni ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Sumedang   |  Fri, 10/17/2008 10:27 AM  |  The Archipelago

Ngdisah, newly installed rector of the Public Administration Institute (IPDN) said she would tighten law enforcement on the campus, notorious for its violence among students, which has claimed three lives.

The new rector believes ineffective policing at the boarding campus in Jatinangor, Sumedang, West Java, is to blame for the students' violent behavior.

Home Minister Mardiyanto officially inaugurated Ngadisah, who was appointed by a presidential decree dated Sept. 24, on Thursday.

Ngadisah, previously head of the Research and Development Agency at the Home Ministry, has replaced I Nyoman Sumaryadi, who was suspended after the death of student Cliff Munthu on April 3, 2007.

Following Sumaryadi's suspension, the government appointed Johanis Kaloh as acting rector for the institute, which trains future bureaucrats.

Cliff, a junior at IPDN, died after extreme harassment from his seniors. His death triggered public outrage over the behaviour of senior students toward juniors.

Mounting anger prompted President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to order the institute not to enroll any new students last year, in hopes of ending the vicious cycle of violence among students.

Ngadisah, who vowed to eliminate violence on the campus, said all students and lecturers had to obey the law if they wanted to transform the bad image of IPDN.

"We must all strictly obey the law. If in some cases we need to issue severe punishment, so be it. We have to enforce the law and school regulations if we want to change," Ngadisah said after her induction ceremony.

Also attending the ceremony were Home Secretary-General Diah Aggraeni, Sumaryadi and Johanis.

Ngadisah said she would soon investigate and clarify rumors regarding the abuse of 12 junior students living in an off-campus boarding house.

"I will ask the former authorities about the incident and the measures that were taken," she said.

Ngadisah added that IPDN was conducting psychological tests for all 1,116 lecturers and mentors in a bid to assess their credibility, capacity as educators and supervisors, as well as their attitudes toward the institute's values.

She added that IPDN would hire more mentors to reduce the current mentor/student ratio from 40:1 to a maximum of 20:1.

IPDN was design to accommodate 1,500 students, yet 3,500 currently attend.

Meanwhile, Mardiyanto said that, beginning January, new students would be spread around four regional campuses in Riau, West Sumatra, North Sulawesi and South Sulawesi provinces, in a further attempt aimed at minimizing conflict among students.

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