Policies in Higher Education: What They Mean to TEFL in Indonesia

 

 

Fuad A. Hamied

 

 

 

This paper discusses policies in education, specifically in higher education and their implication on EFL teacher education in Indonesia. The new paradigm in higher education in Indonesia as outlined in the Indonesian higher education long-term strategy (HELTS) requires a totally new systemic policy in which the issues of quality, relevance, accountability, institutional health, autonomy, and equity become so important. Although Indonesia has shown a significant growth in higher education development, the critical mass of educated people is still far from adequate considering the size of the population, disparities among regions and areas of coverage. The stakeholders should therefore consider higher education development more significant in their priority list. The government intervention in higher education development is of course still very important, as we cannot just leave it to the market. Relying solely on market forces could create greater inequality and widen the gap between the rich and the poor.

In meeting the challenges of the globalization, Indonesian higher education development is implemented using the new paradigm in which institutional autonomy and accountability become the strategic issue. It is expected that by 2010 Indonesia will have a competitive leverage due to the existence of highly reliable and trusted higher education institutions, and we believe that a strong higher education program will lead to a nation’s competitiveness. Higher education today is challenged to carry a new and astounding burden entwined in our lives, and as we have experienced along the history of higher education in Indonesia, the very core of the university’s mission and of the faculty’s academic duty is responsibility to students as specifically reflected in the vigorous pursuit of teaching in classes. Thus, this paper will highlight the basic issues and policies in higher education in Indonesia and discuss what they actually mean to improvement in teaching activities in classes as part of responsibility to students.

 

 

 

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Hamied, F. A. (2005, March). Policies in higher education: What they mean to TEFL in Indonesia. Paper presented at LIA International Conference, Jakarta.

 

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