*this article first appeared in The Sydney Morning Herald on 15 December 2020.
La Trobe, Swinburne, Murdoch and Western Sydney University. These are some of the Australian universities considering axing various Indo-Pacific language programs from Indonesian to Hindi. It’s feared other universities may follow suit.
Abolishing language programs is a dumb move. Australian
universities are a key ingredient in the government’s commitment to engagement
with the Indo-Pacific.
Universities are essential training grounds for a future
generation of Indo-Pacific literate Australians.
The decline in programs corresponds with a decline in
enrolments. This is evident with the Indonesian language.
In the 1990s, enrolment in Indonesian language was
at its height, with 22 programs at Australian universities. In the decades
since then, there has been a major decline.
According to David Hill, emeritus professor of
south-east Asian studies at Murdoch University in Perth, in 2019 there were
only about 14 Indonesian language programs left at Australian universities. As
a result of COVID-19, that number may fall further.
Australian universities must retain language
programs, which are vital to equip the next generation for smart engagement
with the Indo-Pacific.
Institutional commitments to language programs by
universities are crucial because studying a language requires a significant
investment of time, commitment and money.
As part of my Arts degree I undertook an Indonesian
language program, building on my four years of Indonesian language studies in
high school.
Yet this was in mid-2000s, when I was one of about
400 students studying Indonesian in Australia.
By 2014, those numbers dipped below 200 equivalent
full-time students. It is feared that in the future the number of students
could be much less.
At university, I was privileged to be taught by the
likes of Arief Budiman, a well-known activist and scholar, and Professor Ariel
Heryanto, a cultural studies expert.
As part of my degree, I also took Indonesian
studies programs like politics, media, religion, law and society. This helped
me to appreciate the great diversity and richness of the country’s history,
people and culture.
My university also facilitated several internships
in Indonesia. It was through contacts at university that I heard about the
Australia-Indonesia Youth Exchange Program. This collective experience with a
group of 15 Australians and 15 Indonesians set me on a course of lifetime
engagement with Indonesia.
Many of the Australians on that youth exchange
program have found exciting and fulfilling careers in diplomacy, business,
academic, education and the civil service. Their skills in the language and
their knowledge of Indonesian enabled them to achieve the vocations they now
pursue.
Through my university, I also received support from
my faculty to undertake an internship with the Office of the Ombudsman in
Yogyakarta.
These short-term trips would not have been as rich
and meaningful if I did not have basic competence in the language.
In short, my years of studying the language in high
school and at university equipped me for deep engagement with Indonesia.
Our universities are now at risk of curtailing
access to Indonesian language programs for a future generation of students.
If the decision by some Australian universities to
close language programs is dumb, then the Australian government is dumber.
Over the past two decades, the government has been
told time and time again that student enrolments in languages of the
Indo-Pacific are falling, particularly for Indonesian. This is a
well-established fact.
Yet the federal government has done nothing about
it. Short-term study abroad is no quick fix for an Indo-Pacific literacy
crisis. It's great to have the Governor-General of Australia studying
Indonesia, but what about the future generation?
The government frequently refers to its commitment
to the region and its Indo-Pacific strategy, as set out in its 2016 Defence
Paper and 2017 White Paper.
Yet it has failed to live up to this aspiration
with real policies that create incentives for Australian students to study
languages of the Indo-Pacific and the necessary funding for institutions to
make this happen.
What we are left with is a future where there are
fewer graduates of Australian universities than ever with basic competence in
one language of the Indo-Pacific.
These graduates are going into business, diplomacy,
academia, education and science with less knowledge than ever before about our
neighbours.
Collaboration and partnership in the Indo-Pacific
region require mutual understanding.
Australia’s bilateral relationships are
strengthened when Australians take the time to learn a language.
To take one example, the landmark Indonesia
Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement should see more
Australians incentivised to study the language, rather than less.
The more students studying Indonesian language, the
greater chance we have of building strong relationships with our most important
neighbour. Our economic, diplomatic and cultural ties remain hollow without a
basic appreciation for the language.
The dual lack of commitment by Australian
universities and the government to invest in language capabilities affects our
engagement in the region.
Even the embassies based in Australia agree. That’s
why the recent consultations to axe language programs at some universities have
received a strong and swift response from both the Indian embassy and the Indonesian
embassy.
That’s right, our neighbours know it’s important
for us to learn their language more than our own government and universities
do.
And there lies the challenge for 2021: both the government and Australian universities must work together to ensure Asian language programs not just survive, but thrive, post COVID-19.