Academic Capitalism in Southeast Asia: Lessons from Islamic Universities in Indonesia
Keywords:
Academic capitalism, Islamic University, IndonesiaAbstract
Indonesia's prospects of demographic bonus has prompted the rising demand for higher education access. Given the limited resources provided by the government through public universities, it enables private universities to fill in the gap on the market. Numerous universities were established not only for taking part in the market, but also as an opportunity to establish universities rooted with values within the society. Here, religion mostly becomes the value that is adopted as the core value of the education institution. As a rapidly developing region, Southeast Asia is also experiencing this phenomenon. This trend grows stronger especially in Indonesia which has the biggest Muslim community in the world. Not only the rising young generation who are more aware of religious value as the market, but also the rising number of universities who put Islamic values as their core principle and tools for promotion. On the other hand, universities are also experiencing pressure of academic capitalism, from the need to prioritize income generating activities over education and research, focusing on industrial needs rather than knowledge development, and other capitalism challenges on maintaining strong Islamic values under those pressures. This paper aimed to answer the question on how academic capitalism has reshaped Islamic higher education institutions as value-based universities in Indonesia to be dragged in aspiring to be world class universities. In pursuing this vision, this research examined how Islamic universities respond to the preexisting challenges, particularly in preserving its values in the midst of the hegemonic Anglo-Saxon model of world class university. This research employs a qualitative research methodology to explore the phenomenon of academic capitalism in Islamic universities in Indonesia. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with members of the Cooperation Body of Private Islamic Higher Education in Indonesia.
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