99.5
The Indonesian System of Higher Education, Global Challenges and Domestic Contestation
Author: Kamanto Sunarto (University of Indonesia)
In the wake of the 1998 reform movement in Indonesia which put an end to 32 years of authoritarian rule, the subsequent governments introduced a number of higher education reforms in response to globalization challenges. As part of these reforms the new governments ratified international and regional agreements, and introduced new acts, regulations and policies.
A significant break with the past was the policy of allowing public higher education institutions to become legal entities with more autonomy. Another development was the increased emphasis on quality assurance: the accreditation of study programs and higher education institutions became mandatory, unaccredited study programs were no longer allowed to issue higher education diplomas and certificates, the authority to accredit study programs will gradually be handed over by the government to independent accreditation agencies established by related civil society organizations while the government will only accredit higher education institutions. The government also requires higher education institutions to establish an internal quality assurance system.
As part of its concern with quality the government issued national higher education standards to which all higher education institutions and study program will eventually be required to comply. A national qualification framework has been decreed, which will become the basis for the formulation of learning outcomes of all study programs.
These developments take place in the context of dynamic social and political reforms. While in the past government policies tended to proceed unopposed, government policies in the reform era became more prone to challenges from society. This presentation will discuss the various contestations between the State and Society concerning the adoption of global trends in higher education, and the outcome of these processes.