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‘Halting university tuition hike not enough’: Public
Education expenses at public universities (PTN) have experienced average growth of around 1.3 percent per year. The rise is in part due to the privatization of a number of public universities, with these new legal entities (PTN-BH) having more financial and structural autonomy.
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Education, Culture, Research and Technology Minister Nadiem Makariem canceled his plan to increase single tuition fees (UKT) on May 27, 2024. (Shutterstock/99Art)
W
hile the government's decision to suspend an increase in university tuition fees this year is widely appreciated, many say the measure alone is insufficient to address the underlying problem of growing higher education expenses over the years. The public has further called for an end to the commercialization of university education.
Education, Culture, Research and Technology Minister Nadiem Makariem canceled a plan to increase single tuition fees (UKT) that he made in January, following a meeting with President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo on Monday. The policy sparked a wave of protests from the public who argued that it would add to the burden on students.
The UKT system was launched in 2013 as a way to streamline university tuition payments, with the single fee adjusted based on each student’s economic situation. Nadiem said his ministry would evaluate universities’ requests to raise their respective UKT.
“[Even if their reasons to increase tuition are justified], it will only happen next year,” Nadiem stated, adding that the rise would be fair and reasonable.
Anggi Afriansyah, an education researcher at the Research Center for Population at the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), said the government made the right decision by being responsive to the public’s demand.
“[But] this situation seems to be just a delay, as next year the UKT could rise again. The government has to solve [the root problem] of people complaining about the surge in higher education costs over the last few years,” he continued.
Read also: Nadiem cancels university tuition hike
