TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The calculations for business projections are not as accurate as the results of physics formulas. There are many uncertainties that need to be anticipated. Professor Yohanes Surya should have realized this so that the Surya University, which he founded in 2013, would not have experienced financial difficulties. After achieving fame for schooling the Indonesian Physics Olympiad Team, he now faces the complexities of the education business. His subsequent actions should be scrutinized by the Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education so there are no losses to the public.
The effects of the financial problems at Surya University has now spread to the Surya College of Teaching and Education (STKIP), which was also established by Surya, a graduate of the College of William and Mary, Maryland, US. Students at both campuses are now suffering from worsening facilities and declining teaching standards. For example, the lab at Surya University has been moved to two small spaces in the Alicante Shopping Complex in Gading Serpong, Tangerang, Banten.
At the beginning, Yohanes had an extraordinary proposal. He wanted to establish a research university as good as Harvard University. He planned the Tenjo Edu City project in Bogor Regency, West Java, and involved a number of investors. But he made mistakes when allocating investment and forecasting income. Eventually the funds for this ambitious project were used to patch up the finances of Surya University.
Problems arose after the numbers of students wanting to study at Surya University did not match the projections. As of the fourth year, there were only 1,247 students, far below the target of 3,000. Every year, the number of new students fell, despite Yohanes having recruited around 200 doctorate holders, each earning tens of millions of rupiah per month, and spending Rp30 billion on lab equipment.
There are at least three aspects worthy of further examination by the Higher Education Ministry. Firstly, there are indications of misuse of the location permit. This specifies the site of the university as Tenjo City, Bogor Regency. However, university lectures have been held at Gading Serpong, Tangerang. This move may be permanent as the Tenjo Edu City project has been abandoned.
Secondly, there is the granting of loans without collateral to students. According to Bank Mandiri, more than 280 Surya University students received such loans, totaling Rp43.5 billion. This breach of the rules might have happened because the loans were managed directly by the university after the students' parents signed letters authorizing transfers of funds. It later emerged that these parents had problems because the university did not pay out the loans as promised. The parents received letters from Bank Mandiri demanding repayment and now have bad credit ratings because their loans were deemed non-performing last year.
Thirdly, there is the declining quality of facilities and teaching at Surya University and Surya STKIP. The number of lectures with doctorates has fallen along with the worsening finances of the two institutes. Many students have transferred to other campuses.
The government needs to investigate and take action over any breaches of regulations committed by Surya University or Surya STKIP. The accreditation of their study programs also needs to be re-examined if matters continue to get worse. The Higher Education Ministry needs to ensure that the two educational institutions owned by Yohanes are still following the non-profit principle, and are not using students' money for other business projects.
Yohanes Surya's dream of establishing a research university must not fade away. But the government must make sure that this noble aim is achieved in a way that is in line with the rules and that does not cause losses to the people.
Read the full story in this week’s edition of Tempo English Magazine
