Eligible Professors and National Competitiveness Amidst the Nation

At a time when the requirements to become a Professor are considered increasingly difficult, as stipulated in the Minister of Higher Education, Science, and Technology Regulation (Permendiktisaintek) 52 of 2025, some universities in Indonesia are releasing lists of ‘Eligible Professors’. These are lecturers declared worthy and meeting the criteria to be proposed for the academic position of Professor, but who do not yet possess the specific special requirements that would disqualify them, even though their cumulative credit score exceeds the threshold. The specific requirement referred to, as stated in Article 42 point (g), is a minimum of two special requirements in the form of two quality scientific publications or two quality works of art. The detailed special requirement for scientific publications mandates metric indicators measuring the prestige, quality, and influence of a scientific journal, commonly known as the SCImago Journal Rank (SJR), as regulated in the technical guidelines of Kepmendiktisaintek No. 39/M/KEP/2026. To be proposed for Professor, a lecturer must have one scientific publication in a reputable international journal of at least Q2 with an SJR above 0.25 or an Impact Factor above 0.05 at the time of publication and when assessed its status is not cancelled or coverage discontinued, as the first author and corresponding author; and one scientific publication in a reputable international journal of at least Q3 with an SJR above 0.2 or an Impact Factor above 0.05 at the time of publication and when assessed its status is not cancelled or coverage discontinued, as the first author or corresponding author. Rather than being easy to fulfil, this new regulation is considered by some lecturers to be increasingly difficult, although others say it is more challenging compared to the previous rule which required a publication in a reputable international journal indexed by Scopus with an SJR value > 0.10 or a Web of Science Impact Factor > 0.05 as the first author. The surge in the number of ‘Eligible Professors’, declared worthy and meeting the criteria as released by some campuses, particularly state universities, is surprising because the number is more than double the number of definitive professors. Overall in Indonesia, the number of definitive or existing professors is currently around 3% of the total number of approximately 330,000 lecturers. This figure is still very small, especially when compared to the number of professors in other countries. In various developed nations, the proportion of lecturers who are professors is much higher than in Indonesia. In the United States, around 10-15 percent of lecturers hold the title of professor, supported by a tenure track system that provides a more structured career path. In the United Kingdom, around 12 percent of lecturers hold this position, which is considered a prestigious title. The question is how to accommodate ‘Eligible Professors’ in Indonesia at a time when the government is implementing efficiency policies, and whether these efficiency policies impact the proposal process to become a ‘Definitive Professor’. Meanwhile, the latest requirements are considered more difficult than the previous rules. This issue needs a solution, especially for lecturers approaching the mandatory retirement age.