ITB Rector and Presidential Elections

ITB rector and presidential elections

Bambang Soemarwoto, Amsterdam | Mon, 10/12/2009 | Opinion, The Jakarta Post (ITB rector and presidential elections - Mon, October 12 2009 - The Jakarta Post)

This year has seen a peaceful democratic presidential election in Indonesia. People are awaiting with interest the announcement of the new cabinet ministers. Meanwhile, there is another election going on: that of the election of rector of the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB). Out of 22 nominees, 10 candidates for the upcoming position have been shortlisted for the next electoral round.

So far, it has gained little media attention. This is not on a par with the fact that seven of the current cabinet ministers are alumni of ITB. Their importance was expressed by the vice president Jusuf Kalla's anecdotal comment during the celebration of the 50th anniversary of ITB, "Should the incumbent cabinet be deemed to have failed, ITB must be held responsible".

Many ITB alumni also hold important positions in the higher bureaucracy and state owned companies, not only in the Cabinet. In the private sector, from large to small companies, many important positions are also occupied by ITB alumni. Indeed, the political and economic roles of ITB alumni cannot be underestimated. 

It is justified to judge the alumni upon their recent performance. It is true that their performance is related to the quality of their education. It should then be realized that the impact of higher education can be felt 20 to 30 years into the future after one is graduated. If anyone were to be held responsible for underperformance by the alumni, it would be the policy on higher education decades ago.

It is common knowledge that higher education in Indonesia was severely underfunded. Ironically, the policy of underfunding has been continued by successive governments. Even more ironic, this has been given a legal framework in the recently endorsed education bill.

A major concern is the salary of faculty members, which is unrealistically low. Various initiatives have been taken to provide income supplemental to the nominal salary.

Formal initiatives take the form of performance and task-based incentives. Individual initiatives rely on a decades-old policy of tolerating that faculty members can do moonlighting. Supplemental income generation is inherently ad hoc. Faculty members are continuously vulnerable to instability in income. As a result, there is a preoccupation with the need to generate additional income to provide leeway, especially in times of financial hardship.

In turn, some appear paradoxically to have gained very significant wealth. The less fortunate ones can still only barely cover their daily needs. One can argue that despite this preoccupation, syllabi are well covered and ITB has proved able to produce graduates who can assume respected positions. However, there is more at stake here than simply concerns on the quality of lecturing and producing graduates.

First, scientific discussion and interchange is hampered. Discussions are an important means of training students to express and defend their views, and develop out-of-the-box ideas, which in the end will serve the interests of thenation.

Second, the relationship between the institution and potential funding sources, such as industry, is distorted by personal interests. This is unlikely to lead to the most fruitful collaboration between the institution and industry.

Third, universities across the world increasingly make use of subsidy schemes to support international research collaboration. In many cases, Indonesian universities are eligible to receive overseas subsidies, including for man-hour costs. Lacking a rigorous institutional costing framework could lead to major imbalances between research commitments and the steering and funding of research among the partners involved, with Indonesian parties at a disadvantage.

Vulnerability to income instability is not unique to Indonesia. What is unique are the short cycles of months, or even weeks, which may result in Indonesia in personal financial risks and losses. This prevents faculty members from focusing properly on academic activities.

In more developed countries, there are also personal hazards. In the present era of knowledge valorization, faculty members may even lose their jobs. However, this vulnerability (in the West) usually takes a much longer cycle, a couple of years or more, in which there is ample opportunity for faculty members concerned to concentrate on specific subjects, pursue scientific excellence and secure their positions.

Longer cycles are clearly desirable. These require a well-founded salary and career development structure. This should include provisions for decent health care, retirement and occupational welfare. Supplemental income will no longer be necessary. Moonlighting activities can then be strongly discouraged, if not prohibited. This entails a change of culture. The faculty members must be convinced about the benefits (of such changes).

At the same time, a strong message must be conveyed to the society and government alike and all higher education stakeholders. It is about neither the status of a world class university, nor a higher citation index, nor a higher position in world university rankings. It is about the added value society will gain if academics are given the chance to concretely address the challenges faced by contemporary society.

They must be convinced that multi-year collaborative research programs are required, and sustained funding should be available and adequate. Research should be demand-driven, implementation-oriented, and subject to rigorous contractual monitoring and evaluation, while upholding sound scientific principles.

A rector should have the communication skills to convince people both inside and outside the campus, and should have the leadership qualities to make the best of available academic potential for the betterment of the nation's future. This helps determine the quality of thousands of graduates each year and will help shape the country 20 to 30 years into the future. A rectoral election is therefore no less important than a presidential election.

The author is a resident of the city of Leiden, the Netherlands.