Background

In the effort to develop the national economy and strengthen the country's social structure, it is essential that the government obtain contribution from the nation’s think tank to assist and contribute ideas in sustaining the programs and projects that have been planned and implemented. Professors at institutions of higher education are a major part of the nation’s inteligensia and can be further mobilized to play a more effective role.

Of the 22,500 academics at the 20 public higher educational institutions in the country now (HEIs), a total of 1,426 or 6.3% are designated Professor (VK7, VK6, VK5).

The professors, who are experts in their respective fields, can be roughly divided into five main areas: Science, Medicine and Health Sciences, Engineering and Manufacturing, Economics and Management and Social Sciences. Their level of expertise is determined through a promotional process assessed by a panel of experts from within and outside the country.

So far there has not been any planned program that can mobilize the expertise of professors in the nation as a collective and focused group on specific areas to be used strategically for the development of the nation. The contribution from professors in the past has usually been on an individual capacity or as invited consultant, consultant or member of specific research projects.

However, it was found that if university professors could be grouped according to their expertise and talks are arranged regularly with each other, the opportunity will be created for them to contribute more effectively. Collective effort among the expert group is seen as a way for high impact contribution in terms of intellectual power and technical knowledge, given the present era where knowledge and skills are an important strategy. For this, the establishment of a National Council of Professors (NCP), is a timely move and ought to be implemented now.