Education
is a vital part of a nation regardless whether it is in a remote area in Africa
or in highly civilized society in Europe. The higher education in The United
States of America grabs people attention in Indonesia because, at first glance,
it looks different.
One tangible difference is the academic
system. America is the leader in higher education in the world. Many American
universities rank in top ten of the best universities in the world is an
indispensable proof of how sophisticated the colleges are (http://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings/2011). One of
sophisticated part of them is the academic system. Almost all of America
universities use computer based classroom/curriculum management on carrying out
the education. “It allows the professor to engage the students in topics and
questions associated with the course by setting up a variety of discussion
groups on-line within the class (Elisa Eland, 15). In contrast, Indonesia is a
developing country which put education development among the top priorities. “Indonesian
Government has realized since the last chapter of the First Long-Term
Development Period (1989-1993) that education is the most important component
in boosting all areas of national development” (http://www.unesco.org/education/wef/countryreports/indonesia/rapport_1.html). However, its development has not reached all
parts of the archipelago yet. Thus, not all universities in Indonesia use the computer
and internet.
Despite
of this difference, there are still several similarities in education of the
two countries.
Both
America and Indonesia have two kinds of university, public and Private
University. “A public university is a university that is predominantly funded
by public means through a national or sub national government” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_university).
Meanwhile private university is the opposite of public university which is not
owned by government. Another similarity of these two democratic countries is
the use of secular system in public university. In other word, higher public
education in both countries is free of any creed or religion. It is reasonable
because America and Indonesia are heterogeneous countries which have many different
backgrounds of people who live together. However, “religious schools are
permitted outside of the public school system” (Reader’s Choice, 103). Similar
to Indonesia, it allows people to build religious school or universities in the
country.
To
sum up, both America and Indonesia have several differences and similarities in
higher education. Will the difference become alike in the future? This will be an
interesting thing to see.
References
Eland,
Alisa. U.S. Classroom Culture: Washington D.C. NAFSA, 2009
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