Universities welcome foreigners as permanent lecturers

Indonesian state universities have welcomed a decision by President Joko Widodo’s administration to allow foreign academics to serve as permanent lecturers in the country’s universities, suggesting that they can be a catalyst in boosting the country’s academic achievements, write Moses Ompusunggu, Bambang Muryanto and Apriadi Gunawan for The Jakarta Post.

The administration announced recently that it was opening opportunities for foreign academics to become permanent lecturers at Indonesian universities in an attempt to increase the country’s quality of higher education and meet international standards. The move followed a recent presidential regulation by Joko Widodo (Jokowi) on the recruitment of foreign workers, which aims to ease the visa process for foreign workers the country needs most, including those who work in the education sector.

The new policy is the latest move by Jokowi to implement a sturdy foreign academic culture in Indonesia’s higher education system, after announcing in February that foreign universities would be allowed to operate in Indonesia. The presence of foreign academics as lecturers could be a catalyst in boosting the country’s academic achievements, said Panut Mulyono, the rector of Yogyakarta-based Gadjah Mada University, ranked Indonesia’s best university, according to a 2017 government survey.
Full report on The Jakarta Post site