Education in Indonesia .. lately has been influenced much by business. Not all of them of course, but now I'd like to explore much on the edu-business side.
We have heard a lot of education business in Indonesia. Many new educational institution were established, and most of them are for Business. Education not for personal & national development. But it is established for business..
Case 1 Finding Job nowadays becomes much harder than before, number of unemployed people is increasing.. Poor people are everywhere..
Thats why, such institution's target are usually hi-school graduates who are looking for a fast track education who can brings them closer to a career. Not the quality of the education itself was emphasize, but : "if you join us, we'll find you jobs.. guarantee not more than 3 months, you'll get a job"
It was like that. After getting job? the goal is achieved, the institution has done its work. Finished. Everyone satisfied : the student (got a job), and the institutuion (becomes well known), the HR Dept of the company(very easy recruitment!)... it looks fine but.. ? Is the QUALITY really there?
Case 2 Having good career is indeed important for young executives. Having acknowledgment and appreciation is very important for some upper level people. They need respect from other people. .. then how to answer the need?
Well.. some of educational institution, have bravely called themselves as University (in fact they are companies, not a true uni).. and.. they offer you what so called a "degree".. more than just Sarjana degree or Magister degree but they offer an international accepted degree such as Bachelor Degree or Master Degree .. such as BBA or MBA ! Well.. do you think it must be very hard to achieve MBA degree inside Indonesia? Not at all!
One of this kind of company (who label themselves as West Coast University Surabaya Indonesia) offered me a-Cannot-Believe Package for IDR 28 mio, include:
- ONE YEAR study for double degree (MBA & MM)
- The place is at PTC-Supermall
- The class will be only twice in a week for 3 hours each
- Free laptop for everyone
- No admission procedures
- No test for joining this program, everyone is accepted!
- No need to buy textbook at all
- No UTS / UAS (Mid/Final Examination)
- No need to wait for one semester to join this program, you can always enroll every month!
Just pay the Fee, wait & come to class for one year and Pops! U got MBA & MM degree! This "university" also offers a fantastic promo of cicilan Rp. 1.100.000 / month! Cooperation with Mandiri bank.. Well well.. sound interesting .. but hey, is the QUALITY really there?
From both cases.. i think Case1 is still acceptable. The quality is still there, depends on the organizer of the institution, if it is good, then the quality i believe can be good also.. but if the organizer/ the management didnt pay attention for it, then it will be no more than just "makelar kerja" but since cases like Case 1 are non-degree program.. i think it is still acceptable anyway..
For Case 2
Well.. i cannot really 100% blame those institution for offering such programs (i dunno whether it ignores quality of the education itself.. ) the needs of people has changed from a real true qualified education to ... a fast-track & instant education which brings them closer to what they want to achieve
Business people always try to "find a need and fill it" and that s why I called such education institutions as "business"
... like the "university" i mentioned above, it is managed by a company not a yayasan. So, it is Perusahaan instead of Yayasan Pendidikan ! So how do they earn a "right" to give MBA degree to students?.. well ... sort of franchise, but its more like joint venture please see below example
This university has a website which mentioned their strategy, which is to have small classes around the world.They wont build a huge well-known uni-building, but
more small classes only. (Like in Indonesia : Ruko at Citiwalk PTC Supermall)
For those of you who re interested in easy degree achievement, this kind of "university" might be good opportunity for you..
But for those who expect more than just a degree...
I think its better for you to make sure that you are entering a university which is not managed by any corporation or company in the world! For me, in Educational field (with Degree) for the pengelola..
Yayasan is still better than perusahaan, anyway.
Why? Because Perusahaan's orientation is always PROFIT, and Education with Degree.. i think it too valuable to be traded by corporate's profit.
www.westcoastuniversity.edu
http://www.westcoastuniversity-edu.com/about_the_university.html
which makes me know that there are 2 WCU at US, the one is the official nursery university, the other is the "franchise/joint venturer University" who gives license of operation to countries in the world.
If you are interested and curious about this second WCU , you may check what people discuss about it at the below link:
http://online.degree.net/accredited-unaccredited-state-approved-diploma-mill/t-west-coast-university-497.html
Hope this information will help
PS

