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Resisting the Indonesian brain drain
Realizing that knowledge is important for economic development, many countries in Asia are now implementing the idea of “educational protectionism”
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ealizing that knowledge is important for economic development, many countries in Asia are now implementing the idea of “educational protectionism”. China, South Korea and Saudi Arabia are now trying to improve their local universities to become world-class higher education institutions.
Many doctoral degree graduates of top American and Europe universities work at those institutions to allow for a transfer of knowledge.
On another level, one prestigious institute of technology in India has banned its undergraduates from receiving academic grants and business internships from overseas.
These are examples of how some Asian countries do not want to be left behind in the brain race: they resist the “brain drain”.
In Indonesia, the situation is not similar. We lack bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree holders. Therefore we need to send our people to developed countries to gain knowledge. Many scholarships are offered to bright Indonesian students, both from foreign governments and industries. From a pragmatic viewpoint, this situation seems conducive: we need knowledge and they offer it.
But the situation is different when many smart Indonesian students from overseas do not want to return home. The reason for this is often because their knowledge and skills are not appreciated in Indonesia.
We do not know for sure what kind of appreciation they want. Perhaps it is the availability of laboratory or research equipment, or maybe jobs that match their skills. It is still unclear.
Regardless of their reasons, this phenomenon indicates there is a brain drain from Indonesia to foreign countries. Is this OK? Well, Ben Wildavsky, in his article “The Great Brain Race” states that educational protectionism is as bad as economic protectionism.
He argues that science is for the public good and therefore banning students from studying overseas
will hamper the development of science itself — which is global and neutral.
But if we look this problem in the context of triple helix concept, we will find that the brain drain disadvantages Indonesia.
As we know, the development of a country depends on how its universities, government and industry interact to make a significant contribution to its national economy. Scholars are indeed needed to empower local universities.
Indonesia now has a poor number of scholars. Based on the 10 Nopember Institute of Technology (ITS) Surabaya statistics in 2010, bachelor’s degree holders currently account for less than 4 percent of the population.
This is very low compared to India, where the ratio stands at 16 percent. Not to mention that many bachelor’s degree holders in Indonesia share a “labor mentality” — they seek rather than create jobs.
Indonesia badly needs knowledge development to spur its economic development. The brain drain should, therefore, be minimized. It is mandatory for the government and industry — as the other components of the helix — to prevent the brain drain by providing good facilities and infrastructure to science and scholars, who build the country.
Efforts to prevent the brain drain include increasing opportunities for students to pursue careers in scientific fields by providing scholarships at local universities and scientific jobs in industry.
The Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry has taken the lead by example. Over the last two years, the ministry has been working with the World Bank and the Asia Development Bank (ADB) granting scholarships to its employees to conduct research on the rehabilitation of coral reef ecosystems throughout the archipelago.
This is no doubt a good model of how the government can maximize local “brains” in developing the country. The research could result in new knowledge and information on how we can preserve our coral reef ecosystems, which could have both economic and environmental gains.
Local industry could also follow suit. In maximizing profits, it could recruit or offer local “brains” to conduct research and development. These opportunities could attract more Indonesian scholars to remain in this country.
The writer was a participant in the Harvard Summer Course on Biodiversity of Borneo in 2010 in Sabah, Malaysia.
