Isi: Pedagogical and Structural Realities Outside Major Urban Hubs
Proponents of rapid regional adoption argue that expanding English-medium instruction beyond major urban centers directly enhances graduate employability and elevates the international standing of provincial universities ("English-Medium Instruction as a Globalisation Strategy", 2026). From this perspective, offering degree programs in English allows institutions outside primary metropolitan hubs to integrate into global academic networks, attract international partnerships, and democratize access to prestigious globalized curricula. Nevertheless, this ambitious policy drive often overlooks the critical disparities in foundational infrastructure and faculty readiness that characterize regional higher education. In Indonesian tertiary institutions, internationalization initiatives frequently encounter substantial pedagogical friction when instructors and students lack the specialized academic language proficiency required to navigate complex disciplinary concepts effectively ("English Medium Instruction Practice", 2021). Rather than facilitating seamless knowledge transfer, uncalibrated language shifts can hinder meaningful classroom dialogue and place excessive cognitive burdens on students. Comparative experiences in Asian higher education demonstrate that mandating English-medium instruction without robust linguistic scaffolding and targeted teacher development undermines classroom comprehension and diminishes overall subject mastery ("EMI in Japanese Higher Education", 2018). Consequently, expanding blanket English-medium mandates to peripheral campuses risks exacerbating existing inequalities between metropolitan centers and regional universities, ultimately compromising educational quality in the pursuit of superficial internationalization metrics.