"Whatever the major is. It (information technology) must be mastered not only by students from a certain faculty or major," he said while delivering the keynote speech at the Ahmad Dahlan University (UAD) here on Monday.
In a bid to survive, people must at least master the basics of information technology, he added.
If the young generation, especially higher education students, do not master information technology, Indonesia will be left far behind by other countries in the world, he said.
"The risk is that we will be left behind, and we will become a nation of losers, no longer a nation of winners," the minister remarked.
For that reason, Effendy asked all universities to develop human resources who have mastery in the field of information technology.
According to the minister, the government will not be able to prepare competent and competitive human resources without support from the universities.
In addition, to be able to survive, university graduates must be able to adapt to the needs of the industry, or else they must be able to create their own jobs, he remarked.
Every year, at least 3.6 million people in Indonesia graduate from high school and vocational school, and around 1.3 million to 1.4 million people graduate from college, he noted.
"Therefore, at least 3.6 million jobs are needed per year. This is not easy, especially in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Everything has to be corrected," he remarked.
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Translator: Luqman Hakim, Raka Adji
Editor: Sri Haryati
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