Thousands of universities in Indonesia have a low accreditation rating and, therefore, must improve their quality to increase the country’s competitiveness in education, a minister said.  

“I hope campuses with C [accreditation] certificates can improve their quality so they can have either A or B certificates,” Research, Technology and Higher Education Minister Mohamad Nasir told journalists on Tuesday evening on the sidelines of an event preceding the commemoration of 2017 National Technology Awakening Day, which falls on Aug. 10.

In Indonesia, only campuses that have obtained accreditation certificates can issue diplomas. Fifty-four of 4,472 universities in the country have attained A accreditation certificates, the highest rating in higher education.

The National Accreditation Agency for Higher Education (BAN-PT), a government-sanctioned body that issues accreditation for campuses, estimated in May that 12 percent of 20,254 study programs had acquired A certificates.

Nasir said universities accredited with A certificates should provide assistance to campuses with lower accreditation levels to help improve their education quality.

“For a long time, good campuses have neglected their duty to assist universities with low accreditation levels,” said Nasir. (ebf)