REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, BOGOR -- The Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB) has established a leadership dormitory to develop the students' national character as a way to counter and prevent radicalism in its campus. With the presence of the leadership dorm, the IPB campus is expected to become increasingly conducive to the development of national character, IPB Rector Dr Arif Satria remarked here recently.
He stated that one of the efforts to strengthen the national character of students of IPB is through the establishment of the student leadership dormitory inaugurated on Monday (June 4).
Moreover, he noted that the leadership dormitory is an effort by IPB to serve as a nursery for producing prospective leaders. According to Satria, the reason for establishing the leadership dorm is to provide facilities to student activists through coaching programs in order to be more focused and have a better quality than other activists.
"The leadership dormitory is a place for students to strengthen their national character and distance themselves from radical ideology," Satria said.
IPB is among the seven university campuses highlighted by the National Counterterrorism Agency as having allegedly become fertile breeding grounds for radicalism. The seven campuses are University of Indonesia, IPB, Bandung Institute of Technology, Diponegoro University, Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology Surabaya, University of Airlangga, and University of Brawijaya.
In its efforts to stem the idea of radicalism in the local campus, the IPB has established the leadership dormitory to strengthen the education of national character, as the dorm is a medium for multicultural education.
Satria dismissed reports by one of the "online" media outlets that there has been a cult in IPB. "It is not true that there has been a deviant sect at IPB, as has been published by an online media outlet," Satria asserted.
New rules
President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) said Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education has studied new rules to prevent radicalism in the scope of universities. It was related to more massive dissemination of the understandings in educational institutions.
The rules would focus on what universities should do to the students and environment on campuses. Therefore, all activities that exist at universities do not lead to the idea of radicalism, which can damage unity of the nation.
We will make regulation if its needed, however now it's still being studied, Jokowi said on Thursday (June 7).
Jokowi said the regulation would definitely not curb the students freedom in academic. He asserted there is no relation between academic freedom, freedom of association, and the process of preventing radicalism.
"This is a process in the framework of the existence of our country, not the others," Jokowi added.
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