ADAKSI Assesses Draft Education Bill as Failing to Address Higher Education Problems
The Alliance of Indonesian Academic and Vocational Lecturers (ADAKSI) has assessed that the draft National Education System Bill (RUU Sisdiknas) has not yet addressed the fundamental problems of higher education and the teaching profession in Indonesia. The lecturers’ organisation considers the bill to be weak in terms of the philosophy of higher education, lecturer welfare, and the future direction of university development.
ADAKSI Chairperson Anggun Gunawan stated that the RUU Sisdiknas should serve as the foundation for building a higher education system capable of meeting future challenges, rather than merely regulating the administrative aspects of education delivery. “The RUU Sisdiknas must be built on a strong educational philosophy, rooted in the realities of Indonesian society, capable of overcoming current higher education problems, while simultaneously preparing a generation able to face future challenges,” Anggun said on Wednesday, 15 July 2026.
According to Anggun, one of the issues not addressed in the draft bill is the direction of higher education funding. He assessed that the campus autonomy policy through the State University with Legal Entity (PTNBH) and Public Service Agency (BLU) schemes has actually led the state to increasingly relinquish its responsibility for financing higher education. Anggun referred to a statement by the Rector of the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), who previously mentioned that the government’s funding contribution only accounts for around 18 per cent of the campus’s operational needs. According to him, similar conditions are experienced by a number of other universities with PTNBH and BLU status. “The state is increasingly relinquishing its financial responsibility to universities through autonomy and university clustering policies,” he said.
Beyond funding, ADAKSI also highlighted the position of lecturers, who are still placed as state civil apparatus within the bureaucratic regime. According to Anggun, this status makes it difficult to improve lecturer welfare because it follows the general civil servant payroll system. As a result, lecturer welfare depends heavily on various allowances, such as professional allowances, performance allowances, and special allowances, whose implementation is not yet evenly distributed.
ADAKSI proposed a paradigm shift so that lecturers are positioned as professionals, not merely as government employees. With this approach, lecturer income could be adjusted based on their level of education, competence, and academic responsibilities. The organisation also proposed tightening the recruitment process for lecturers, for example by making a doctoral degree a basic qualification for prospective new lecturers. Anggun believes this step could improve the quality of human resources in higher education while reducing the problem of lecturers having to leave campus to pursue doctoral studies.
Furthermore, ADAKSI assessed that the current career system for lecturers encourages many academics to compete for structural positions, as this is considered the most effective way to improve their welfare. This condition is feared to shift the orientation of lecturers away from academic activities such as teaching, research, and producing innovation.