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ine out of 12 deans at the University of Indonesia (UI) have endorsed a motion of no-confidence in UI Rector Gumilar Rusliwa Somantri, urging the Education and Culture Ministry to fire him.

An Aug. 1 deadline given to the ministry by the deans passed without incident. The deans represent UI’s schools of medicine, dentistry, engineering, cultural sciences, public health, natural sciences, social and political sciences, computer engineering and psychology.

UI spokeswoman Siane Indriani said on Thursday that Gumilar did not object to the deans’ motion, which he acknowledged was their right.

According to Siane, however, a university rector could not be fired on the basis of a motion of no-confidence. “They need to follow the procedure,” she said, adding that the university would wait for the ministry to respond.

Siane said that the animosity evinced by the deans for the rector was based on misconceptions.

In the motion, the deans said that Gumilar disturbed the teaching and learning processes, had an authoritarian leadership style and would not work with the deans.

Gumilar had not managed the university transparently or accountably, the deans said, claiming that the rector had fired eight of their peers without cause.

The dean, whose term ends on Aug. 14, laid off seven of the nine deans who filed the motion on Monday: Bambang Wibawarta of the cultural sciences school; Bambang Sugiarto of the engineering school; Bambang Wispriyono of the public health school; Adi Basukriadi of the natural sciences school; Bambang Irawan of the dentistry school; Dewi Irawaty of the nursing school; and Bambang Shergi Laksmono of the social and political sciences school.

Siane said that the appointments of the nine deans had already ended, and one dean’s term had ended in February. “The rector only followed the recommendation of the university’s board of trustees [MWA] in laying off the deans,” she said.

Bambang Wibawarta declined to comment on the brouhaha. “The deans are still discussing the issue and we will give our statement tomorrow,” he told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

“We still have to monitor the process of appointing a new rector so that Gumilar’s stooge will not get the job,” he said. (cor)