BISA Project Expands Scholarships in Response to 1.9 Million High School Graduates Not Pursuing Higher Education

Efforts to widen access to education can no longer rely solely on providing scholarships. Beyond economic constraints, many students also face limited access to information, guidance, and preparation for continuing their education.

According to the Coordinating Ministry for Human Development and Culture (Kemenko PMK), approximately 1.9 million secondary school graduates in Indonesia do not continue to higher education each year. In response to this challenge, the BISA Project, a scholarship and self-development programme initiated by Salam Setara together with Kitabisa, continues to develop its educational assistance mentoring model.

This is combined with study guidance, mentoring, character development, and digital learning to help students from low-income families prepare for higher education. Since its launch in 2024, the BISA Project has supported 623 students from 26 provinces across Indonesia.

Of these, 540 participants successfully continued on to higher education, with 84 per cent admitted to state universities (PTN) and 50 per cent of them securing places at Indonesia’s top 20 universities according to the Webometrics ranking. In Batch 3 in 2026, the programme is once again supporting 495 participants, with 401 admitted to various universities through a range of selection pathways.

Executive Director of Salam Setara, Ahmad Mujahid, explained that education is a shared responsibility. When young people still fail to continue their education due to limited access, it becomes a calling for everyone to provide solutions.

“Through the BISA Project, we want to ensure that more and more young people have an equal opportunity to pursue higher education,” he said in Jakarta on Wednesday (29/7/2026). Building on this success, this year the organisation is expanding the programme’s benefits through BISA Future Fest 2026, which for the first time is being opened to the general public as part of the BISA Graduation 2026 series.

Previously, Ahmad said, the learning and self-development spaces were reserved only for members of the BISA Squad. Now, the opportunity has been widened so that more young Indonesians can access learning, inspiration, and networking to prepare for their futures.