“Law No 14 Year 2005 on Teacher and Lecturer is not yet specific because the Law still unites the concept of teacher and lecturer despite the differences in their duties and functions,” said chairman of the commission, Dr. Ir. Djoko Udjianto, MM.
Djoko said education was an important pillar that supports national economy in the short, medium, and long term. So, regulation is needed to improve the quality of education that can meet the HR demands.
He added separation of regulations for teachers and lecturers needs to be made to resolve problems such as lecturer distribution and ratio between lecturer and students which is still not ideal.
“Administration and bureaucracy of lecturer certification are not yet consistent. Requirement for ranks is not equal with the workload, either, while administrative duties may disrupt concentration while doing research,” he said.
Leaderships from other universities such as Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta (UNY), Universitas Pembangunan Nasional (UPN) Yogyakarta, Institut Seni Indonesia (ISI), Universitas Islam Negeri (UIN) Sunan Kalijaga, Universitas Islam Indonesia (UII), also attended the meeting.
“The commission cannot work alone and needs the input from the experts in line with the aim to achieve a world class university,” the commission chairman said.
Furthermore, both the parliament and academics discussed issues, including lecturer certification, higher degree, ranks, allowance and workload, research and community service.
“One of the existing problems is the facilities and infrastructure, funding, and how lecturers can contribute better to the state. I think it is very good to hear about the Draft Law on Lecturer. I hope it can drive Indonesian education faster to reach its goals,” said Rector of UGM, Prof. Ir. Panut Mulyono, M.Eng, D.Eng.