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Sham universities persist as govt scraps more licenses
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University students gather on Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat in Central Jakarta on Oct. 28 to voice their opposition to the Job Creation Law. (JP/Dhoni Setiawan)
T
he government has revoked the licenses of nearly two dozen universities engaged in fraud over the past week, adding to the hundreds it has shut down in recent years, as the nation continues to struggle with misrepresentation and misconduct in the higher education system.
The Education, Culture, Research and Technology Ministry recently stripped 23 private universities of their accreditations over illegal practices that included selling fake diplomas, not fulfilling higher education standards, presenting fictitious study programs and committing fraud in awarding the Indonesia Smart College Card (KIP-K) scholarship.
“We catch these illegal campuses based on their fulfillment of national standards of higher education,” Lukman, the ministry’s director for institutional affairs, told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.
He said there had been 53 reports of problematic activity at universities from May 2022 to 2023.
While the ministry has not announced which universities had their licenses revoked, students have taken to social media to share their experiences at these now-shuttered institutions, which include the Technology University of Indonesia (UTI) in Bali, STIE Tridharma in Bandung and STIE Tribuana in Bekasi.
“This revocation of operating licenses is the government’s way of protecting the public, especially students, from bad educational administration and fraud by mean-spirited education providers,” Nizam, the ministry’s acting director general for higher education, said in a press statement on June 8.
Lukman said educational fraud persisted for two main reasons: the ever-present demand for fake diplomas and institutions that sought to profit off of students.
