Govt insists publications for science grads

Tribunnews.comEducation and Culture Minister Mohammad Nuh insists that his ministry will go ahead with its plan to require university students to publish scientific papers in journals to graduate.

Nuh said that his ministry had considered input from many parties on the policy.

"We've received many opinions and objections regarding the matter [scientific paper publication]. We have obtained various views, those in favor and against,” Nuh said on the sidelines of a meeting in Semarang on Wednesday evening.

Nuh said the policy would effect students who graduate after August 2012.

The scientific paper publication was meant to forge a culture of writing among university students, he said.

“Indonesia currently has at least 5.3 million college students. With such a high figure [of college students], we are only seeing a few scholarly works [produced by our scholars],” he explained, “How come such an enormous number of students have made only a few scientific papers.”

According to Nur, Indonesian universities are supposed to produce both graduates and scientific publications.

"How come an undergrad student who has studied for four years is unable to write articles or scientific papers?” he said.

The policy has received much criticism, including from the House of Representatives, who doubted that the ministry was prepared to implement the scheme.

Puti Guntur Soekarno, a House Commission X member overseeing education, said earlier on Monday that the ministry should first prepare the infrastructure and resources to make the policy practical.

Meanwhile, Indonesian Association of Private Universities chairman Edy Suandi Hamid said there was a glaring lack of accredited journals to publish graduate scientific papers.

Edy said that the policy “deserves appreciation but is unrealistic”. (AML)