A pandemic that still exists up to now has hindered all human activities and the target accomplishments. One of which is an obstacle for the Faculty of Cultural and Sciences in UGM in organizing its 75th anniversary or 15th lustrum. So many challenges they must face and bigger responsibilities they must bear. Target and accomplishment are canceled. It has given an impactful effect on the other programs that must run out.
"Several programs are unable to work; some of them must be stopped. During one year, we must adapt to this uncertainty," said Dr. Wening Udasmoro, M.Hum., DEA, in conveying the report of the Dean of FCS UGM online at the peak of his 75th Anniversary, Wednesday (3/3).
"This is my very first time reading this speech in front of you virtually," she added.
She admitted that the biggest challenge of this pandemic happened to education and teaching. It shifts the education system from offline to online. Meanwhile, several parties must adjust to this new adaptation.
"We won't feel the effect of this shift learning system directly in 2020, but in the next following years, this effect will begin to appear because most learners experienced difficulties," she said.
Even though students have many challenges during a pandemic, there are still positive values taken from this moment. One of them is an increase in the period of study. In Bahasa and Indonesian Literature, there is an increase in the study period of students.
"Congratulations to Bahasa and Indonesian Literature for successfully gaining the consistent average of the study period, which is only around 4.49 years," said Wenning.
Meanwhile, for the admission of freshmen, Wening revealed that there were still three most popular study programs even though in the middle of a pandemic. For three consecutive years, the Tourism Study Program, English Literature, Anthropology, and Korean Language and Culture attracted more than 2,000 students. Moreover, the level of selectivity in the Faculty of Cultural and Sciences has also been high.
"There is only an average of 2 to 3 students per study program who do not re-register," she added.
Meanwhile, for the magister program, the average GPA for the past five years has been around 3.56. In 2020, the highest GPA average was achieved by the American Studies Masters Program with a score of 3.68. Meanwhile, the study period's average length for the last five years was two years seven months.
"In 2020, the Anthropology Masters Study Program has the shortest average study period, which is two years and one month," she said.
Every year, there are about 180 students accepted in the magister program of Faculty Cultural and Sciences. Linguistics and Literature Magister Program has the biggest number of magister students. One of the good news during the pandemic in 2020 is that the Linguistic Magister Program got many registrants.
"In 2019, the Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM has a new program at the postgraduate level, namely the Master's program in Middle Eastern Cultural Studies. In 2020, this program began to accept new students. It is indeed an exciting thing that the number of enthusiasts who register the new program is quite high, around 18 people," she explained.
Besides conveying the academic accomplishments, she also revealed about publication and finance management of the faculty. She said that this pandemic had made several changes to the faculty programs.
Implementing strict health protocols has made some of the community's programs and the crowd regrettably must be canceled. Referring to the 2020 financial performance, the UGM Faculty of Cultural Sciences will conduct an internal evaluation and then determine strategies that are more in line with the new normal conditions in the era of the Covid-19 pandemic.
"Hopefully, all elements are ready to adjust to this pandemic control update," she explained.
Meanwhile, Dr. Pudjo Semedi Hargo Yuwono., M.A, in his scientific speech, conveyed a speech entitled Tragedy of The Private: Theft of Company Property in Plantation. He said for the people who make a living in gardening in Indonesia, the imbalance of post-colonial global market relations has almost no difference from extortion. Former colony countries are forced to export plantation commodities to earn foreign exchange to confer on foreign products.
Nationalization has also promoted the practice of misuse of plantation assets. In the name of democracy and social justice, the Indonesian government fixes directors, administrators, and cylinders with modest standard wages for civil servants.
"This policy has narrowed the wage gap between the top and bottom layers of the plantation, but has also served as an incentive for administrators and cylinders to cover their low salaries by illegally taking company assets," he said.
Author: Agung Nugroho
Photo: Firsto
Translator: Natasa