TheJakartaPost

Please Update your browser

Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.

Jakarta Post

Most public service jobs in Indonesia don’t need PhD

JP/Seto WardhanaAn ambitious target was set by the former administrative and bureaucratic reform minister, Yuddy Chrisnandi

Bitra Suyatno (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Mon, October 14, 2019

Share This Article

Change Size

Most public service jobs in Indonesia don’t need PhD

JP/Seto Wardhana

An ambitious target was set by the former administrative and bureaucratic reform minister, Yuddy Chrisnandi. In 2016, he stated that there were around 4.5 million public officials, but only around 2 percent, or 90,000, had a doctoral degree.

This year, the number is targeted to reach 5 percent. As we are now approaching the end of the year, it is worth asking how close we are to reaching that lofty goal, and do most jobs in public service really need individuals with a doctoral degree?

In most countries a doctoral degree is a basic requirement for a career in academia because it is an introduction to the world of independent research.

Logically, the fresh doctoral graduates have new or upgraded skills to conduct independent research, so organizations should consider placing them in good fit jobs that require research and analytical skills.

However, some master’s and doctoral degree scholarship recipients have been placed in bad fit jobs (not in their area of expertise) or in low ladder positions. Research in 2018 revealed that only 60 percent of individuals obtained higher managerial positions upon returning from studies overseas, and only 51 percent of them obtained a higher salary.

If we scrutinize lower level degrees such as master’s degrees, data in 2012 surprisingly revealed that in Aceh, 217 scholarship graduates from overseas were unemployed.

However, many government employees still believe in the equation of higher degree education being equal to a good career. That is why many of them pursue higher education through for instance scholarships.

Unfortunately, the calculation is unraveling, especially for those working not as lecturers, researchers or public policy analysts.

Research in 1987 in the United States indicated that most public service jobs did not really need high skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy and knowledge of results.

In Indonesia, more than 40 percent are doing clerical jobs. In line with the research findings, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said at the end of 2018 that now Indonesia needed to focus more on vocational education. She said that for most jobs a doctorate was unnecessary.

Individuals can have a doctorate, but when they work, they are totally unproductive as not all jobs need a doctorate.

Most jobs require skills provided by vocational schools, not higher education. Even since a decade ago research has indicated that the number of doctorate holders in several developed countries increase dramatically, outstripping the demand for the qualifications.

Moreover, disruption brought about by Industry 4.0 has put highly educated university graduates in an unfavored situation. The 2018 research indicated that the future of work will need job skills rather than college degrees.

Research in 2019 revealed that the job market would need a skilled workforce rather than doctorate graduates. It seems that current and future jobs need more skills provided by vocational schools rather than knowledge gained from universities.

Rapid technological change combined with rising education costs, have made our traditional higher-education system an increasingly obsolete and risky path. Thus, most civil servants with doctoral degrees may never get a chance to take full advantage of their qualifications.

On the other hand, the costs and efforts to get a doctoral degree are so high. A government scholarship recipient in 2015 said the amount of money allocated to one overseas doctoral scholarship was Rp 2.5 billion (US$178,571). According to research in the United Kingdom, a doctoral degree usually consumes three to five years of a student’s life, but the failure rate is around 40 percent. If the knowledge the students have gained in school for years is not optimally used, their research skills will deteriorate.

Another issue is an employee scholarship contract. There is standard government obligation of two study years plus one year for such contracts, but each ministry can add to these obligations as they see fit.

The reason is that scholarship recipients return to the workforce and share expertise and build an organization’s capacity. However, some returnees are not utilized based on their education. Unfortunately, the contract does not clearly set out the job or a position description post study.

That allows institutions wide powers to place returnees in any job and position level. A good employment contract should clearly state the qualifications and degree necessary to hold the job.

Moreover, if recipients quit before the contract ends, they are obliged to pay for the scholarships and all related expenses.

Overqualified employees tend to be less satisfied and less productive. Worse, most doctorate holders are senior employees and have previously held a position. When placed in a low ladder position post study, they have to compete with new and freshly graduated coworkers who are likely around their son’s age.

If the employees feel like they are not appreciated or if they dread coming to work, it is just a matter of time before they are devastated mentally and then perform poorly. Once it happens, the organization may think they do not deserve a promotion.

Their career ends, but they cannot easily resign from their institution because they are bound by a terrible employment contract.

To conclude, we have reached a tipping point at which the cost and risky path of pursuing doctoral degree scholarship for most government officials often are not outweighed by future earning potential and job prospects.

On the other hand, each government institution should be more transparent about what the career path opportunities will be for their employees after finishing their studies.

Stop sending employees to pursue scholarships in fields for which there are no jobs or positions post study. If there are too many doctoral degree employees, there will never be enough jobs to accommodate the numbers.

{

Your Opinion Counts

Your thoughts matter - share your experiences, suggestions, and any issues you've encountered on The Jakarta Post. We're here to listen.

Enter at least 30 characters
0 / 30

Thank You

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We appreciate your feedback.