To support the successful implementation of the 2020 Population Census (SP2020), the University of Indonesia, through the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, actively participated by involving 100 students from the statistics study program as Census Friends, who played a role in increasing the response rate of the online census.
The University of Indonesia is a member of the Indonesian Statistics Higher Education Forum (Forstat). The shared academic background of statistics departments, study programs, or departments provides a strong foundation for coordination and consolidation, making UI’s involvement in the implementation of SP2020 crucial.
FMIPA UI’s concrete involvement includes engaging, guiding, and persuading individuals within their respective universities, families, and surrounding communities through the role of Census Friends.
As a manifestation of their commitment and a sign of their official inauguration, the Census Friends members were inaugurated by reciting the Census Friends Pledge and provided with more detailed knowledge about the 2020 Population Census, including the Joint Filling Out (Ngibar) of the 2020 online population census.
The inauguration took place during a Campus Coordination Meeting (Rakorpus) organized by the West Java Statistics Agency (BPS) in collaboration with the University of Indonesia (UI) on Thursday (March 5, 2020) at the Sinarmas Hall, Multidisciplinary Research Lab, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, UI-PT. Pertamina.
Dr. Agung Waluyo, Director of Community Service and Empowerment, representing the UI Rector, stated that through this collaboration, the University of Indonesia statistics students fully support the 2020 Census. One concrete step in realizing this support is the current membership of 100 students, the majority from the Statistics Undergraduate Study Program, as Census Friends.
“In carrying out their role as Census Friends, these 100 students are accompanied by 20 lecturers from the Mathematics Department of the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Indonesia,” said Dr. Agung.
He further stated that student enthusiasm for joining as Census Friends is very high, as evidenced by the growing number of applicants. Therefore, a selection process is necessary to select 100 individuals with a strong commitment to ensuring the success of the 2020 Census.
Following Dr. Agung’s statement, the Dean of the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Dr. Rokhmatuloh, M.Eng., in his remarks, assured that Census Friends are ready to socialize and publicize the 2020 Census, as an effort to raise awareness and understanding of the 2020 Census among groups, communities, and academics. This will begin with the simplest steps, namely publications on their respective social media pages.
“Census Friends, with the assistance of lecturers, are also ready to counter hoaxes, if any, usually related to data security or the implementation of the online Census,” he emphasized.
He also invited the entire academic community of the University of Indonesia to contribute to the success of the 2020 Population Census by completing their data independently through sensus.bps.go.id.
According to data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), population censuses in Indonesia have been conducted six times since Indonesia’s independence: in 1961, 1971, 1980, 1990, 2000, and 2010.
Dr. Margo Yuwono, Deputy for Social Statistics at BPS RI, stated in his remarks that the 2020 Population Census was the first to be conducted with several innovations not seen in previous censuses.
One innovation is in the census methodology. After decades of traditional methods, the combined method will be used to collect data using population administration data from the Directorate General of Population and Civil Registration (Ditjen Dukcapil).
“Indonesia is now entering a golden age, and population data is crucial to ensure accurate government policies,” Margo emphasized.
The primary goal of the 2020 Population Census is to provide data on the number, composition, distribution, and characteristics of the Indonesian population, leading to “ONE INDONESIAN POPULATION DATA.”
Margo continued, explaining that the realization of a single Indonesian population data base will be utilized not only by ministries/institutions (K/L) but also by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in formulating targeted policies.
“Population data that reflects field conditions, which can present data down to the smallest administrative area, is highly anticipated by many parties,” she said.
Regarding the data collection period, Margo explained that data collection will be conducted in two phases: the online census from February 15 to March 31, 2020, and the interview census from July 1 to 31, 2020.
BPS also provides residents with the option to choose one phase that best suits their level of mobility.
“Now, BPS is giving residents the option of online or interviewing,” said Margo.
“For those with high mobility, we urge you to choose the Online Population Census for the 2020 Population Census,” he urged.
