Deputy Minister: University Rectors Must Make Campuses Benefit Society

Kendari (ANTARA) — Universities must engage directly with society and act as social institutions, addressing real problems faced by the public. Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology Fauzan has urged the newly elected rector of Halu Oleo University (UHO) in Kendari for the 2026–2030 term to ensure the university has a direct impact and benefits the community.

“The rectoral election is essentially a routine institutional process. It is substantive, but the greatest challenge lies in performance afterwards,” Fauzan said on Tuesday after attending the UHO rectoral election vote at the university’s Rectorate Building in Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi.

Fauzan warned universities against becoming “ivory towers”. Instead, he said, they should act as social institutions capable of addressing and offering solutions to the real problems facing the public.

He said the elected rector’s main priority should therefore be to direct academics and the entire university community to “get out into the field” and take an active role in society.

At a closed senate meeting attended by Fauzan, who represented the ministry’s 35 per cent voting share, Prof. Takdir Saili was elected UHO rector for 2026–2030, securing 42 votes.

Saili defeated the two other candidates: Prof. Ida Usman, who received 18 votes, and Dr Herman, who received 13.

The rector is chosen through a combined vote, with 65 per cent allocated to the university senate and 35 per cent to the ministry. Of UHO’s 49 senate members, 48 attended and cast votes; one ballot was declared invalid.