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THE ROLE
OF INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER
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| 1) | The national education system aims to improve
the quality of Indonesians who are devoted to the Five Principles
of Belief in the One and Only God, just and civilized humanity,
the unity of Indonesia, democracy guided by the inner wisdom of
deliberation of representatives, and social justice for all Indonesian
people. |
| 2) | Education is a deliberate effort to prepare
students for the roles that they will play in the future through
guidance, instruction, and/or training activities. |
| 3) | National education is for the development
of ability and enhancing the standard of living and dignity of the
Indonesian people to realize national goals. |
| 4) | National education is aimed at elevating
the intellectual life of the country and to develop Indonesian citizens
who will have high morality, knowledge and skills, physical and
mental fitness, independence, and social responsibility. |
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In addition, the plan also stated that the educational system should provide universal access to schooling at the primary level, to eliminate inequities between urban and rural areas, and among regions and socio-economic classes. It is the policy of the government to further improve access to and equity in education. During the implementation of its First Long-Term Development Plan (1969-1994), Indonesia has achieved substantial progress in its educational development programmes which have contributed significantly to the country’s economic development. The highest level of education that could be achieved by an individual is an indicator of the quality of his/her formal education. The National Socio-Economic Survey of 1995 indicated that Indonesians aged 10 years old and above that had either no education or had not completed primary education declined substantially from 43.5 per cent in 1990 to 27.3 percent in 1995. Meanwhile, the proportion of population that had completed primary education was 31.22 percent, 11.94 percent for the lower secondary schools, 11.77 per cent for the upper secondary schools, and 2.17 per cent for those with diploma and university degrees. Higher education, which may be in the form of
academy, polytechnic, schools, and institutes of higher learning or
universities, has the following mission: |
| 1) | To prepare students to become professional
members of society who can: |
| a) | Apply science and technology and has the
ability to make self-improvement and progress in his/her own field,
as well as having the ability to operate and maintain production
process according to his/her expertise (for Diploma and S1 graduates). |
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| b) | Apply and develop science and technology
especially with respect to innovation and improvement in production
process (for S2 graduates). |
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| c) | Develop and create advances in science
and technology through research and development in production
process (for S3 graduates). |
| 2) | Producing advances in science and technology;
developing researchers and scientists; updating knowledge and ability
in accumulating, transforming, and distributing available technologies
for the welfare of society. |
| 3) | Disseminating applied research products,
action programmes, and applied technology package for its use in
productive process to improve society’s quality of life. |
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Based on these missions, the Indonesian government has formulated three strategic programmes, namely: (1) Higher Education Management Programmes, (2) Programmes for Increasing the Quality and the Relevance of Higher Education, and (3) Programmes for Equity. The management programmes are aimed to increase the efficiency, productivity, and effectiveness of the higher education process. To achieve these aims, several instruments have been developed, which include accountability, accreditation, and the development of university autonomy, among others. Accountability is concerned with the university’s responsibility with respect to how it is managed according to existing regulations, ethical norms, and planned objectives. Accreditation, on the other hand, is concerned with supervising and controlling the quality of higher education output which is governed by the National Accreditation Board. With these main programmes, the student population is expected to increase from 2.2 million in 1995 to about 6.2 million in year 2020. With this estimate, the participation rate in higher education of the 19-24 age bracket could be increased from 9.6 percent in 1995 to 15 percent in year 2005 and 25 percent in year 2020. Another striking development during the last several years was the increase in educational attainment of the workforce. Based on the National Socio-Economic Survey of 1995, the proportion of the working age population with Diploma and S1 degrees had increased from 1.6 percent in 1990 to 2.2 percent in 1995. THE BIMP-EAGA AND THE ROLE OF UNIVERSITIES The Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines - East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) cooperation was formally established on 26 March, 1994. The BIMP-EAGA links Brunei Darussalam; East and West Kalimantan and North Sulawesi of Indonesia; Sabah and Sarawak and the Federal Territory of Labuan in eastern Malaysia; and Mindanao and Palawan in southern Philippines. The Philippines played a key role in forming the BIMP-EAGA with President Fidel V. Ramos first raising the idea during an ASEAN Heads of State meeting in October 1992. Agreement from the other leaders followed during the next 18 months. Cooperation agreements are not limited to quadrilateral agreements; any two or three participants can initiate cooperative arrangements which will be recognized as part of BIMP-EAGA cooperation. Cooperative arrangements between participating and non-participating countries or organizations will likewise be considered as part of BIMP-EAGA. The characteristics of the BIMP-EAGA subregion
are as follows: |
| 1) | The BIMP-EAGA is actually a subregion in
which centuries of informal and traditional economic ties within
the subregion will be formally recognized and exercised within a
modern context. |
| 2) | The BIMP-EAGA is also a manifestation of the strong intention
of the four governments to create a more equitable development by
spreading economic activities to the subregion. |
| 3) | Complementarity is not the strength of this subregion. BIMP-EAGA
is premised on common aspiration, ethnic commonalities, geographical
proximity, and the potential for collective growth. |
| 4) | The BIMP-EAGA will be very important as the building block of
ASEAN and AFTA. |
| 5) | There are seven areas of cooperation that have been approved
and prioritized to be implemented by the participating countries.
These are: (1) expansion of air transportation; (2) development of sea linkages, transport, and shipping services; (3) fisheries cooperation; (4) development of joint tourism; (5) development of energy sources; (6) construction and construction materials; and (7) development of communication services. |
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Meanwhile, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) conducted in 1995 a research on the prospect of subregional cooperation and recommended 120 alternative policies, programmes, and development strategies in order to create new economic synergy in the subregion. The study also recommended three productive and four supporting sectors that have to be developed. The three productive sectors are: agriculture, fisheries, and forestry; industry; and tourism. The four supporting sectors, on the other hand, are transportation and communication; electricity; trade, investment, and financial services; and human resource development. An important factor to consider are the macro
problems presently faced by the participating countries in the subregional
cooperations. These are as follows: |
| 1) | With the exception of Brunei Darussalam,
all other subregions are relatively less developed in their respective
countries. As far as Indonesia is concerned, the eastern part of
the country that is involved in BIMP-EAGA cooperation is relatively
less developed compared to the western part. This is manifested
by the fact that almost all of the eastern island provinces participating
in the subregion cooperation have per capita income that is below
the national average. |
| 2) | Geographically, bridging the gaps of the
physical distance between the participants of the subregion cooperation
will be relatively expensive compared to other subregional groups
(e.g., SIJORI) owing to lack of infrastructural facilities. |
| 3) | The geographical position of EAGA in the
Pacific Rim has been such that their trade orientation has been
directed to other APEC countries rather than to neighboring ASEAN
countries. This is manifested, among others, by relatively small
intra-trade among the participating subregion. |
| 4) | Within the participating subregions, we could
not find any one that could act as a prime mover for the whole region,
like Singapore’s role in the SIJORI triangle. |
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Having analyzed the strength and obstacles in enhancing social and economic development in EAGA subregions, the questions that must be answered by the institute of higher learning in the subregion are: How and in what ways would the universities in the subregion be able to participate and contribute significantly to the acceleration of development in the area? There are several areas in which the universities
in the subregion could participate in assisting and making the cooperation
sustainable. These areas are as follows: |
| 1) | The institutes of higher learning in the
subregion must be actively involved in human resource development,
especially in providing qualified manpower at all levels for the
use and development of the prioritized productive and supporting
sectors. |
| 2) | The institutes of higher learning in the
subregion must also be actively involved in conducting various research
programmes that could produce policy recommendations for the local
as well as the central government of the participating countries
so that the cooperation could become an effective vehicle for subregional
development. Joint research programmes among the institutes of higher
learning in the subregion, especially in the prioritized productive
and supporting sectors, are also important to keep the cooperation
moving progressively. |
| 3) | The institutes of higher learning in the
subregion must also intensify their partnerships and cooperation
as well as increase their awareness and involvement in the development
process. Such a scheme has been adopted by the Eastern Island State
Universities Association in Indonesia. In the past four years, the
University of Northern Territory of Australia has signed Memoranda
of Understanding with its neighboring counterpart in Indonesia,
such as the University of Nusa Cendana in Kupang, University of
Mataram in Mataram, University of Pattimura in Ambon, and University
of Cendrawasih in Jayapura. |
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The same scheme had also been adopted by the University
of Papua New Guinea and University Technology of Papua New Guinea
with their neighboring counterparts in Eastern Indonesia, such as
the University of Centrawasih, University of Pattimura, and University
of Hasanuddin , which are all members of the Eastern Island State
Universities Association. These cooperative schemes cover exchange
of scientific information programmes, student and academic staff,
exchange programmes, and joint research programmes, among others.
CONCLUDING REMARK The following conclusions may be derived from
the whole analyses of this paper. |
| 1) | It has been recognized that human resources
are the most important productive resources of any society, such
that many countries have adopted human resource development approach
as their main policy orientation. |
| 2) | One way to increase the quality of human
resources is education. The 1945 Constitution of Indonesia clearly
states that every Indonesian citizen is entitled to education. To
realize this, the government is obliged to promote a more appropriate
intellectual aspect of the people’s life. |
| 3) | The national education system of Indonesia
aims to improve the quality of Indonesian people who are devoted
to the One and Only God, have a good character, personality and
integrity, are disciplined, hardworking, responsible, independent,
intelligent, skillful and physically and mentally healthy. |
| 4) | Higher education, which may be in the form
of academy, polytechnic, schools and institutes of higher learning
or universities, is the continuation of secondary education in order
to prepare students to become members of society with academic and/or
professional abilities who can apply, develop, and innovate the
fields of science and technology and/or the arts. |
| 5) | The BIMP-EAGA subregion links Brunei Darussalam;
East and West Kalimantan of Indonesia; Sabah and Sarawak and the
Federal Territory of Labuan in eastern Malaysia; and Mindanao and
Palawan in southern Philippines. This subregion provides a blend
of natural resources: relatively cheap and abundant land; major
mineral, petroleum and natural gas deposits; and marine resources. |
| 6) | To enable the subregion to exercise its collective
growth, the participation of universities in the area is badly needed.
The role of institutes of higher learning may take the forms of
providing professional manpower at all levels, and conducting and
promoting joint research programmes, especially with respect to
the development of prioritized and supporting sectors. Therefore,
cooperation among the institutes of higher learning in the subregion
is strongly recommended. |
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REFERENCES Sub Wilayah Ekonomi Asean dan Kawasan Perdagangan Bebas Asean (AFTA). 1995-1996. Sekretariat National Asean Departemen Luar Negeri, Jakarta, Indonesia. Proceedings of the Annual ASAIHL Seminar on Higher Education for All. 22-23 June 1995. Bangkok University, Bangkok, Thailand. 1995 Welfare Statistics. 1996. Biro Pusat Statistik Indonesia. Jayant Menon. March 1996. The Dynamics of Intra-Industry Trade in ASEAN. Asian Economic Journal. Habana, Pacita I. March 1993. Building Scenarios for Education in Southeast Asia. SEAMEO-INNOTECH, Philippines. BIMP-EAGA and Australia’s Northern Territory. 1996. Northern Territory Government.
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