UNAIR NEWS – The Education Endowment Fund (LPDP) claimed hundreds of foreign LPDP awardee alumni have not returned to Indonesia after completing their studies. Of the 35,536 awardees, 413 of them have not returned yet. In fact, the obligation to return to Indonesia has been regulated in the general guidelines for awardee candidates. Addressing the issue, UNAIR Sociologist Dr. Tuti Budirahayu Dra MSi focused on normative rules and empirical facts.
Awardee categories
Tuti divided the issue into two. First, the awardee alumni violate the rules of not paying compensation for scholarships when graduating and not returning to Indonesia.
“It’s a serious violation. Sociologically, it’s deviance. The action is against the applicable rules or laws, so it deserves punishment,” she said.
Second, the awardee alumni have finished their studies and got the offer of working abroad and marrying foreigners. They fulfill the obligation to pay the compensation or at least carry out their obligation. Tuti called this the “brain drain”.
Brain Drain
The Sociology lecturer at the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences UNAIR defined brain drain as the emigration of highly trained or intelligent people from a particular country to settle in another. To put it simply, it is when there are many skilled and brilliant people, but they are not using it to build their own country. Instead, they chose to pursue careers overseas due to multiple factors.
“It could be because another country offers a better life, with a higher salary, or got taken over by another country for their skills. It could be due to immigrant status, which politically prevents them from returning, or their personal choice,” she said
The brain drain phenomenon may happen to everyone, including the ones who pursue studies at their own expense and are not interested in returning home. Therefore, the brain drain problem must be solved through various policies.
Tuti believed people who pursue careers overseas feel that they don’t get enough appreciation from the government, which is shown in the low salary. The appreciation towards their work is lower than their expectations.
Quoting the written statement released by LPDP officials, “As the system and regulations are continuously improved, the awardee alumni were committed to contributing to the country. That must be questioned, dug, and challenged by the LPDP.”
Author: Viradyah Lulut Santosa
Editor: Khefti al Mawalia
