Emergency Over Independent Selection Fraud: Forum of State University Vice-Rectors Formulates Mitigation Strategies
The issue of fraud in new student admissions has become a serious concern for the Forum of Vice-Rectors for Academic Affairs of State Universities (PTN) across Indonesia. This follows a sting operation by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) involving the Rector of Jenderal Soedirman University (Unsoed), Prof. Akhmad Sodiq.
In a meeting involving 75 state universities held in Makassar, South Sulawesi, on Thursday (17/9), Vice-Rectors agreed that selection integrity must be the top priority. The primary focus is directed towards reforming the ‘jalur mandiri’ (independent pathway) and the National Selection Based on Test (SNBT).
Prof. Ruslin, Vice-Rector I of Hasanuddin University, revealed that the meeting identified four crucial issues, with selection integrity being the most urgent. He emphasised that current fraudulent practices have entered the realm of criminal law.
“Fraud in the independent pathway and UTBK is no longer merely an allegation. We have reached the stage of reporting to law enforcement agencies (APH), as seen in the cases of UNESA and Unsoed. This now involves criminal elements,” stated Prof. Ruslin.
As an evaluation measure, he cited the implementation of the 2026 SNBT/UTBK. For study programmes prone to fraud, such as medicine and dentistry, exam schedules were intentionally placed on the first and second days without public announcement. This silent strategy is claimed to have successfully reduced fraud opportunities, despite resulting in vacant seats due to participant absences.
The forum also highlighted the importance of technology-based mitigation to close loopholes. One best practice being implemented is the use of facial recognition technology during the participant verification process.
“This is one form of mitigation, but it is not yet uniform across all state universities. We want to meet so that we can collectively adopt better systems to reduce fraud,” explained Prof. Ruslin.
Similarly, Prof. Imam Santoso from Brawijaya University emphasised that integrity is key to academic strengthening. According to him, a clean selection process will produce high-quality students who can graduate on time, thereby increasing educational efficiency.
In addition to integrity issues, the forum discussed several technical points. Anita, Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs at Nusa Cendana University Kupang, added that the meeting aimed to form concrete synergy patterns between universities, including addressing the challenges of Artificial Intelligence (AI) which could potentially be misused in the selection process.
The findings from the Makassar meeting will be submitted as official recommendations to the Chairperson of the Rector Forum Council, to be subsequently forwarded to the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology (Diktisaintek).
The forum hopes these recommendations will strengthen quality governance and ensure that the entry gates to state universities maintain their prestige. “We want to provide recommendations, including best practices, so that the concept of national selection truly maintains integrity and mitigates fraud,” concluded Prof. Ruslin.