Developing University Co-op in Indonesia

A university has important rule to develop a civilization. It’s not only has taking a part of holding studying activities and researches. Farther, a university has obligation to create a brand new intellectualist who has commitment to universal humanity’s value and as agent of change to their surrounding. Based on this fact, The University Co-op is being important because it has universal value such as: helping their self, responsibility, democracy, equivalent, solidarity. And all those universal value can be created and practiced by university’s elements, student, lecturer, teacher, official, parents and also society. According to Statistic Center Office’s data, at 2006 there was 3.663.365 students in 3.441 state and private universities in Indonesia. If we increase the member of University Co-op, it’s not only would increase the society welfare, but more than that University Co-op would be the part of organization which has role important to developing democracy in Indonesia.

Actually, the terminology of University Co-op has been told in seminar in Brawijaya University at 1990 by Indonesian Youth Co-op (KOPINDO). It supported by The National Federation of University Co-op Association (NFUCA), Japan. Unfortunately, there are several persons doubted to KOPINDO because they feel that KOPINDO was doing nothing. Trough several National Conferences which held by Institute For Indonesian Co-opeative Study And Development (LSP2I) and supported by Canadian Co-operative Association (CCA) in Jakarta at 2000, finally the discourse of University Co-op has begun told in universities in Indonesia.

Since 18th October 2006 Jendral Soedirman University built Jendral Soedirman University Co-op (KopKUN) in Purwokerto, Central Java, Indonesia. This University Co-op has been pioneer to another University Co-op development. Indonesian government trough Kementrian Koperasi dan Usaha Kecil Menengah (Ministry of Small Medium Enterprise and Co-op) paid attention to University Co-op activities in range, and then they gave funding IDR.500.000.000 for each University Co-op. And they target is increasing the total of University Co-op to 100 University Co-op in the end of 2009.

Even though the discourse of University Co-op has been roll on, the university co-op is not easy to be implemented. It’s because the concept of University Co-op is the discourse critic of Functional Co-op Development Model or Specifics Co-op based on dominant professional group in Orde Baru Era (Suharto’Rezim). As we know that before the discourse of the University Co-op has been roll on, since 1970 there were several co-op in university such kind of Student Co-op (Kopma’s), Lecturer Co-op(Kopdos), and Official co-op (Kopkar). Those Co-op included of the “functional” co-op, because its development based of top-down approaches. It seem from automatically member system, developing in limited range, stick to university government functional and they got more physical facilities than organization developing skills.

Although that co-op gave advantages, so many persons doubted that in the future this co-op can compete with another co-op and also captive market. This problem is causing of their weak of fighting and most of the co-ops hang their facilities to the university or the government. The top-down system in co-op which follows the Orde Baru’s system can not develop well. They can not be a proper co-op.

The University Co-op is a co-op which obey the co-op’s principal such as opened member, democratic member reinstate, member economic participation, autonomy and freedom, education-workshop-information, and solidarity among co-op. This University Co-op also increase the co-op basic value such kind of helping their self, responsibility, democracy, equility, and solidarity. Besides those value, university co-op also increase the honesty value, open minded, social responsibility, and caring each other.

If we see from university co-op system, it is the effort to promote co-op superiority system than the co-op before. It means that university co-up could be integrative management and has more potential market which fills up the economic of scale because the system of member is open to every one (student, lecturer, official, alumnus, student’s parent, and society surrounding the university). As we explained, that university co-op which developing in universities in Indonesia is the model of co-op which based on member necessary’s specific and not social status specific.

With the assumption that university co-op is the model of integrative co-op in university, we do hope that university co-op could give advantages value to develop society welfare trough the collective efficient process of their member. It could be implemented trough creating self trade service and professional which manage by and for the members. In this case, the existence of university co-op could be purposed as effort to optimally the university’s economic and social sources to reach university independence vision in order to create excellent humanities.

As university co-op’s social character, we do hope that university co-op able to build and develop social capital from the entire university stake holder in equivalent studying and working partner. It could grows the economical attitude, self supporting, helping each other, responsibility, and create the whole character. Principally, the university co-op ought to be the prime battle in facing unfair business and pushing the process of economic, social and culture reformation in the society.

Developing the university co-op is the commitment of International Co-Operative Alliance (ICA), Co-operatives Ministry Conference, and regional or general ICA meeting. Generally, they promote university co-op trough the entrepreneur and developing young role in co-op. Since 1988 The great commitment from ICA Regional Asia and Pacific also shown by creating working group ICA Consumer Co-operative Sub Committee on University/College and Youth Co-operative for Asia and Pacific. It purposed to raise cooperation among youth co-op and university co-op in national, regional or international.

The first University Co-op Global Conference held in Singapore at 15-16 October 2007. This agenda is the one of General Assembly International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) routine agenda which held every two year. The representative of university co-op in this world came in this conference. From this conference, they clarified that the developing of university co-op in several country was integrated networking and as the commitment of international co-op like ICA.

Purwokerto, 2007