TheJakartaPost

Please Update your browser

Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.

Jakarta Post

Poverty-stricken students struggling to get into universities

Higher education remains out of reach for students who are bright enough to pass the state university entrance examinations, but not rich enough to pay the required enrollment fees

Yuli Tri Suwarni (The Jakarta Post)
Depok
Tue, August 7, 2012

Share This Article

Change Size

Poverty-stricken students struggling to get into universities

H

igher education remains out of reach for students who are bright enough to pass the state university entrance examinations, but not rich enough to pay the required enrollment fees.

Five students from Bina Insan Community Learning Center, an education center for the underprevileged in Depok mayoralty, are now on the brink of losing an opportunity to enroll in state universities.

The school’s principal, Nurrohim, said that one of the students had actually received the “Bidik Misi” scholarship — a government-sponsored scholarship for underprivileged students with outstanding academic achievements. But as of today, the Directorate of Higher Education at the Education and Culture Ministry has yet to confirm if it would cover the student’s educational expenses. The rest are seeking financial aid or loans to pay their enrollment fees, which range from Rp. 3.75 million (US$371) to Rp 16 million.

Nurrohim said he wished the students, who had worked very hard to pass the entrance exam, would not be dispirited by such hardship. “We are now negotiating with the universities to allow them to pay half the fees,” he said, adding that the rest would be paid gradually as they tried to raise funds.

The five students have been admitted to Jakarta State University (UNJ), Dipegoro University in Semarang, Central Java and General Soedirman University in Purwokerto, Central Java. Their fate is now hanging in the balance.

Andika Ramadhan Ferbriansyah, who had successfully secured a seat in UNJ’s History program, said that he was currently looking for loans to cover his enrollment fee, which was Rp 3,750,000. He said that as he got in through the university’s independent selection program, he only had a small chance to receive a scholarship. “That’s why I have to borrow money, which I’ll repay by working and finding a scholarship once I get into the university,” the boy who has seven younger siblings said.

Another student, Muhammad Irvan, who was also accepted outside the national entrance test for state universities, has to find a way to cover Rp 16,000,000 in order to enroll in the History Program of Diponegoro University. Irvan has to go to Semarang to lobby the university and to register for the regional health insurance scheme (Jamkesda) to get dispensation.

Dwi Wulansari, 18, who made her way to History Program in UNJ through SNMPTN, has not received her Bidik Misi scholarship as she has yet to hand over two of the requirements. “One is family portrait which is impossible to get. My sibling and I live separately, while my father and mother have separated,” Dwi said. Another requirements is a report card that provides ranking information. Her school does not rank its students.

PKBM Bina Insan, which is known better as “Sekolah Master”, was established in 2000 with volunteers from the University of Indonesia and the learning course firm Primagama. The school currently has 2,600 students from kindergarten to senior high school, and most are street kids or those who come from poor families. Despite their backgrounds, many of the students had made their way to state universities. Some even went to study abroad, Nurrohim said. He also said that it was a lot easier to manage the registration process to study abroad than to enroll in state universities. “It took months to take care of Jakmesda in Depok despite all requirements having been fulfilled. My students who study abroad had their passport, visa, ticket and allowances taken care of by the donor countries,” he said.

Nurrohim said that some potential donors had contacted him about assisting the students in different ways, kompas.com reported on Monday. (aml)

{

Your Opinion Matters

Share your experiences, suggestions, and any issues you've encountered on The Jakarta Post. We're here to listen.

Enter at least 30 characters
0 / 30

Thank You

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We appreciate your feedback.