Investment in Education is Irreplaceable

Government Encourages Investment in Higher Education for Human Resource Development

As a country where the majority of the population is of productive age, Indonesia has a huge potential market. Of the 270 million population, as many as 42 thousand Indonesians study abroad, with an average registration of 9,000 people per year and with the aim of studying in Australia, the United States, Malaysia and the United Kingdom.

The Indonesian government itself is open to accommodate investment plans in the education sector that meet the criteria for foreign higher education. Some of these criteria include the level of education for tertiary education, fields open to education, vocations and professions, foreign campus rankings must be included in the Top 100 based on QS World University Rankings, campuses open to foreign students, and non-profit campuses principles.

In a meeting between the National Council for Special Economic Zones (SEZ) and the Deputy Vice President (Global Business Development) of Kings College London (KCL) Dr Helen Bailey, BUPP KEK Singhasari, and the British Council at the office of the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, Wednesday (13/07) , Plt. Secretary General of the SEZ National Council Elen Setiadi said that KCL plans to develop the education sector in the Singhasari Special Economic Zone (SEZ), Malang Regency, East Java.

The KEK National Council welcomes the investment plan from the KCL and will support it in terms of regulations and facilities. "We support, we welcome you, we're ready if you need more support," said Secretary General Elen.

Government support in this regard includes the ultimate facilities and conveniences that can be obtained for investment in KEK, where 100% foreign ownership is possible, tax holidays, and other convenience facilities. This Government support is one of the manifestations of the RPJMN in Human Resource Development.

For information, KCL is a research-based university, especially in increasing the capacity of human resources with a total of 43,000 students of which more than 18,000 are international students. In addition, KCL is also one of the leading universities ranked 37th in the world and ranked 7th in the United Kingdom.

"We have an economic impact of over 10 billion around the UK, supporting research and development and innovation," said Deputy Bailey.

Previously, KCL had collaborated with the Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) in Shenzhen and currently there are more than 200 students. This is in line with KCL's steps to grow globally, especially in the Southeast Asian market. In this regard, KCL is currently supported by the British Council preparing a feasibility study for establishing a branch campus in Indonesia.

In this study, they cooperate with the University of Indonesia and will focus on technology and the creative economy, as well as exploration for other fields such as medical technology, defense and security, and others.

Investment in higher education from well-known universities in the world will of course have a positive impact on the world of Indonesian education, in which it is possible to transfer knowledge and culture between entities, so that in the long run it will improve the quality of Indonesian education in general. In addition, the existence of world-class universities in Indonesia will of course save foreign exchange from students studying abroad