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AKARTA: About 22 percent of the 540,593 students who took the national test for state universities (SNMPTN) passed the exam this year, National Education Ministry officials reported.

“There was an increase of 92,511 participants admitted to the universities this year, which relates to a greater number of seats available,” the ministry’s directorate general of higher education, Djoko Santoso, said Tuesday.

He also reported 808 empty seats at state universities after the tests this year, down from a total of 4,173 seats in 2010.

The national tests’ committee head Herry Suhardiyanto said 154,954 participants, or 29 percent, had grades above the national average but still did not make it.

“Many smart students did not pass the tests,” he said.

Herry said this was because many chose competitive majors at the universities.

State Universities Rector Assembly head Musliar Kasim said the number of available seats this year met the target of 60 percent of the seats offered to participants of the national tests.

“We have told rectors to obey a ministry ruling that requires the number of seats,” he said.

A ministerial regulation has ruled that each state university has to make 60 percent of its seats available through national tests.

State universities may run their own tests and apply higher tuition fees for the seats that they manage outside the national test. — JP