Indonesia Scraps University Fee Hike Plan After Complaints from Students, Public
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28 May 2024 01:23 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Following a meeting with President Joko Widodo in Jakarta, the Minister of Education, Culture, Research and Technology, Nadiem Anwar Makarim, said he had decided to cancel plans to raise the single tuition fee (UKT) for the 2024-2025 academic year at state universities, including those established by the government and status as a public legal entity (PTNBH).
Nadiem said the decision to cancel the tuition hike was made after listening to the concerns of students, families and the community. Last week, the Ministry of Education and Culture reconvened with university rectors to discuss the cancellation of the hike.
"I just met with the president and he agreed to the cancellation," Nadiem said on Monday, May 27.
During the meeting, Nadiem suggested a number of options. One of them is an approach to overcome the difficulties faced by the students.
However, Nadiem didn't give a straight answer when asked if the government would revoke the Minister of Education's Regulation No. 2 of 2024 on the Standard Unit for Higher Education Operating Costs or SSBOPT, which was used as the basis for increasing the state budget allocation for state universities and PTNBH.
The SSBOPT rule has also been used as a reference and basis by universities to determine the amount of tuition fees, arguing that adjustments are needed to keep up with the increasing need for learning technologies.
The claim that the SSBOPT has never been updated was what prompted the Education Ministry to attempt to raise UKT fees. The reason is to encourage universities to provide relevant learning to students.
"Regarding the Education Minister's regulation, the Directorate General of Education, Culture, Research and Technology will announce the technical details at a later date," Nadiem said.
ANDI ADAM FATURAHMAN | JULI HANTORO | INTAN SETIAWANTY
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