YOGYAKARTA – Around 2400 graduates of UGM were provided direction and experience sharing by Hikmat Hardono, S.E, Akt., one alumnus who currently serves as Executive Director of Indonesia Teaching. The informative activity from one of the alumnus who joined Association of Universitas Gadjah Mada Alumni (Kagama) is routinely conducted to provide motivations for graduates who are following the graduation rehearsal procession.
In his presentation, Hardono said that the Indonesia Teaching movement (IM) came from the thought of UGM alumnus, Dr. Anies Baswedan. This movement was launched in order to provide experience for graduates for a chance to be a young teacher to serve for one year in remote areas. IM program was inspired by students social services (PTM) in the 1950s. One of the pioneers of PTM program is the late Prof. Koesnadi Hardjasoemantri, who was once Rector of UGM.
The late Prof. Koesnadi was one of the eight people joining the first batch of PTM. He went to Kupang and worked there for several years. After his return, he invited three of the smartest students there to study at UGM, one of which was Adrianus Mooy, who later became Governor of Bank of Indonesia. "Therefore, the PTM is one source of inspiration for Indonesia Teaching movement," said Hardono, an alumnus of the UGM Faculty of Economics class of 1991.
From 1,300 registrants, 8 of 51 young teachers in the first batch who were sent out across the archipelago are alumni of UGM. The number of UGM graduates who managed to pass the selection is still less than the those of UI and ITB, each of which managed to send 13 and 30 graduates. "Graduates from UGM mostly failed on direct assessment. In this program, high GPA is not important. During an interview, conveying ideas and thought is very important," he asserted.
This year, Indonesia Teaching movement will recruit 100-200 young teachers who will be stationed in Aceh, Papua, and border areas of Nias Island, Miangas, and remote islands off Java. He added that to fill the shortage of teachers, the program also aims to prepare future leaders who understand the condition of the lower classes in the area. "One year of teaching, inspiring for a lifetime, both for the students and yourself," he said.
UGM Student Affairs Director, Drs. Haryanto, M.Sc., conveyed that the alumni experience should be held as example by UGM students because this experience can be applied in developing a career in the job market. "Experience is the best teacher. The experiences of the alumni bring significance to us that can be learned and applied in life," he said.