The origin of modern Indonesian higher education

Abstract

In the immediate postwar period, modern Indonesian higher education emerged as an integral component of the revolutionary effort to throw off Dutch and Japanese oppression, and in the first decade of liberation the system of higher education continued to develop with only modest levels of foreign assistance. Through a focus on the development of the two leading institutions, Universitas Gadjah Mada and Universitas Indonesia it is possible to grasp the distinctive cultural themes of the modern Indonesian university: the stress on nationalism, the preference for indigenous staff and staff development, the stress on quantitative expansion even at the expense of quality, the concern to develop relevant programs, and the concern to realize harmony with the established authorities. Only after the basic pattern of the system had been established, were substantial amounts of foreign assistance forthcoming. This assistance has fostered expansion and led to some changes in the procedures for selecting students and for organizing degree programs. However, it has not altered the core cultural commitments established in the foundation period.