TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Ainun Naim, Secretary General of the Ministry of Education and Culture, said only 30 percent of Indonesian students obtain higher education at universities.
"This figure rises by 20 percent compared to how it was 10 years ago," Ainun said yesterday.
The number of students in Indonesia going to universities is much lower than those in South Korea and Malaysia, where 70 percent of the students pursue higher education at universities.
However, Ainun debunked the assumption that the low number of Indonesian students going to universities is due to the expensive college fees in Indonesia.
Ainun said the government aimed at increasing the number of students able to go to universities by 70 percent in the next 5-10 years.
Therefore, she pointed out, the government was set to build the so-called 'community academy' which is on the same level with Diploma 1 and Diploma 2, in every regency.
"We will also open up new universities, especially in the border areas," she said.
In addition to opening up new universities, the Ministry is also expected to increase the number of 'Bidikmisi' scholarship recipients.
For the record, in 2013, the ministry grant the scholarship to at least 150,000 students and this year the number is expected to reach 160,000 students.
IKA NINGTYAS
