YOGYAKARTA – Secretary General of Research, Technology and Higher Learning Ministry, Prof. Dr. Ainun Naim, MBA., said the government prioritised on the quality of higher learning education across Indonesia, in line with the target of President Joko Widodo’s education policy.
“Formerly, the government made access to education a priority; now, it is the quality that’s prioritised, especially the enhancement of capacity of higher learning institutions in the region,” Ainun Naim told journalists before the meeting with Deans of Business Schools across Indonesia with the CEO of AACSB International in Magister Manajemen UGM on Monday (22/6). Attending the meeting were President and CEO of AACSB International, Tom R. Robinson, Senior Vice President and CEO of Asia Pasific AACSB International, Eileen Peacook, and Dean of UGM Faculty of Economics and Business, Prof. Wihana Kirana Jaya, M.Soc.Sc., Ph.D.
The Secretary General said that to increase equal quality of higher learning education, the Ministry had improved quality assurance and accreditation system. He was cited as saying, however, that accreditation was not the goal of higher learning education, but contribution to nation’s development.
“Innovation, involvement, and contribution from higher learning have to play a role among society,” he said.
Wihana Kirana Jaya said international accreditation was one way to get international recognition, then opening wider collaborations with international education institutions as well as industry. International higher learning institutions will also be attracted in sending their students to study here. Meanwhile, UGM Business School is the first in Indonesia to have been accredited by the AACSB.
Tom R Robinson said there were as many as 736 renowned business schools in 48 countries, but only 5% have been accredited by the AACSB due to the rigorous selection. “There are 15 standards that must be met, including making sustainable education innovations,” he said. Reportedly, some 17 Indonesian universities are applying for this accreditation.