Face/OFF

Sun, 05/17/2009 1:37 PM  |  Discover

CON

Expensive education endangers human resources' quality

Nadya Noviana Wulandari
School of Law
Padjadjaran University

I strongly reject the law on educational institutions, which I think only leads to liberalization and more expensive fees for higher education.

But this is not only about money. This will somehow deeply affect the country's human resources quality as people's chance to continue educating themselves will be more limited.

It is not fair and not right if education is only accessible to those who can afford it.

So it is very natural to see many people ask the Constitutional Court to review the law.

It is feared the more liberal our education system becomes, the more it will be dominated by foreign investors interested in coming to this sector.

While this is not necessarily a bad outcome, it is important we make sure management is adequately supervised and special arrangements are put in place to make sure foreign investors don't control our educational system.

Lastly, I don't blame policymakers, but if we want to promote a better educational system here, we need to involve the people of Indonesia when drafting the next educational policies.

The policymakers should also keep an eye on what happens in the community and really know what people want from the educational sector.

Education for all is possible

Rommy Kharisma Karindon
Soedirman University

According to our Constitution, everyone in Indonesia is entitled to education, but to provide education all the way up to university level is costly.

One says it's possible for the government to provide free university education as long as there is no corruption.

I think the Law on educational institutions should be revised. There are at least two arguments that can be put forward for the revision.

Firstly, there is a possibility that bright students from poor families might not be able to access higher education.

Universities are required by law to set aside up to 20 percent of their annual intake for such bright but poor students. What if there are more of them applying to go to university?

I think there should no limits on how many of these students are accepted into universities.

Secondly, the law authorizes the government to declare an educational institution or university bankrupt.

What if the university does not have enough money to subsidize the bright but poor students?

I think it's not appropriate to declare an educational institution bankrupt, because somehow it's related to the people's right to have an education.

The university I'm currently studying at is not yet a profit-oriented institution, so we, students, can still afford it.

But I have no idea whether it will remain affordable in the near future.

The government must take action and fund universities so as not to wipe out people's dream of getting a higher education.

PRO

Higher fees, better facilities only

Mario Masaya
International Relations Studies
Faculty of Social and Political Sciences
Parahyangan Catholic University

I realize education is getting more and more expensive. Tuition and building fees are higher, but what I feel and see is that those increases have not yet given rise to brighter and high-quality graduates.

Many educational institutions still focus on improving their facilities rather than focusing on human development.

If this keeps happening, I can say campuses will slowly become enterprises rather than educational institutions.

What should also be highlighted is not only how expensive our schools are, but also how our educational system still very much relies on an antiquated "one-way" teaching method.

The students and perhaps lecturers too, need to have more hands-on practice to help lift the country's level of education.

But I can also proudly say our government has done quite a good job improving our education, allocating 20 percent of the state budget toward education this year. Next, we need to make sure the government allots and uses the money appropriately.

Next topic

The "politics of coalition" is taking over the political agenda, as parties fight to win the upcoming presidential elections. Do you think our politicians enter coalitions to serve only the interest of their political parties? Whatever your stance is, please provide your own ideas on how to make such coalitions work to form a legitimate government.

Explain your stance in 400 words and send it to discover@thejakartapost.com. The best pro and con arguments will be released in the next issue of Discover on June 21.

Copyright © 2008 The Jakarta Post - PT Bina Media Tenggara. All Rights Reserved.