New study program moratorium hinders the PTKIN development
Jakarta, UIN News Online – The moratorium policy for opening new study programs (Prodi) hinders the scientific development of the State Islamic Religious Higher Education Institution (PTKIN) through the opening of new study programs. In addition, the moratorium policy also makes it difficult for PTKIN to contribute in preparing quality human resources.
This was said by the Rector of UIN Jakarta Amany Lubis during and audience with deputy coordinator of Education and Religious Affairs of the Coordinating Ministry for Human Development and Culture Agus Sartono in his office on Wednesday (03/03/2021). In addition to PTKIN leaders, the audience was also attended by the Director General of Islamic Education Muhammad Ali Ramdhani and Director of Diktis Suyitno.
The enforced moratorium policy, said Rector Amany, had an impact on PTKIN's difficulties in opening new study programs at various undergraduate levels, would have an impact on the difficulty of scientific development in the related campuses. She gave an example of the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIP) UIN Jakarta which had been around for a long time and produced thousands of alumni.
This faculty cannot open new master and doctoral study programs, even though these levels of education serves to facilitate a higher levels of learning. “It has been around for a long time and now it's time to open Masters in Political Science and Sociology. But because of the moratorium, it can't be opened. FISIP cannot develop further due to this moratorium,” she explained.
Not only FISIP, she continued, the Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB) UIN Jakarta, which is older than FISIP, also has difficulty in developing itself due to this moratorium. Before the moratorium was enforced, FEB succeeded in opening a Master and Doctoral degree in Sharia Banking Study Program
“However, with the implementation of the moratorium, FEB has difficulty in developing new study programs even at a higher level for other fields of science such as Accounting and Management. Even though we already have the infrastructure and qualified lecturers,” said Rector.
In line with the suggestion of the Rector of UIN Jakarta, the Director of Diktis of the Ministry of Religious Affairs, Suyitno, emphasized the importance of PTKIN in opening general study programs, including professions and vocations. According to him, this needs to be seen as part of fulfilling PTKIN's responsibilities in increasing the quality human resources.
He reminded that the number of students who graduated from senior high schools (SMA, SMK, and Madrasah Aliyah) is no less than 3.7 million students. Of that number, only 1.8-1.9 million students were successfully facilitated to continue their higher education due to the limited educational capacity offered by higher education institutions. Meanwhile, some of them were not facilitated, and were even forced to immediately enter the world of works immediately after graduating.
Meanwhile, Director General of Islamic Education Muhammad Ali Ramdhani acknowledged the need to expand PTKIN's opportunities to develop. The tendency of the society to increase the economy along with the spirit of Islam demands the presence of professionals who are able to meet the needs of modern society while maintaining Islamic values such as halal food, Islamic Fashion, and Islamic Tourism. “We want skilled people to fill these positions,” he said. (usa/zm)