For love of money or of education?

Being bright or smart is commendable, but in an era where education is business, cleverness, like other commodities, is not enough: In order to matriculate, prospective students must meet an even tougher condition -- a wallet full of money.

Freshmen with strong finances are typically given preference over gifted, but underprivileged students in admission procedures among university, including state university, which were formerly known for their pro-poor policy.

I have observed this worrisome trend with apprehension for some time, but gained first-hand experience only this year, when my eldest son was grappling with selecting his university.

I also recently received two SMSs asking for advice from other family members on how to choose a suitable institution.

"Uncle, is St. Mary in Pekanbaru a good college?" a niece wrote. "I want to attend this college."

Meanwhile, my younger sister sent a different SMS: "Nanda (her son) was not accepted at IPB through PMDK (a special admission process for talented students). Which university should he enter?"

Frankly, I had great difficulty in trying to answer these questions, which are not as simple as, well, it should be.

Selecting a university is a daunting task. A university hopeful and their family (or guardians) must consider the available options in terms of the type of college, its location and size. Once the student has an idea of what they are looking for in a university, they will need to find out how their background and achievements match up to the school's admission criteria and weigh out their chances of admission.

This critical, life decision is made more difficult by financial considerations.

The money at stake largely depends on the chosen field of study and the reputation of a tertiary institution. The lowest admission fee in Jakarta is Rp 1.8 million (US$200), while the highest is Rp 90 million, a figure beyond the reach of the majority of Indonesians, with a per capita income of just $1,080.

It is true that the public have options, but nothing is for free. Under an admission fee "refund" scheme unilaterally set by institutes of higher learning, students who have been accepted at a private university will lose millions of rupiah if they switch universities mid-process.

This "withdrawal" fee varies from one institute to another, but the lowest is Rp 1 million.

A resident of Depok municipality, south of Jakarta, said his daughter passed the entrance examination for pre-med at Tarumanegara University and for law at Atmajaya University, and decided on a law degree -- after finding out that the admission fee for medicine at Tarumanegara was Rp 90 million. Worse, this is non-refundable if she changes her mind and switches to another department in the same university or a different school altogether.

Some of my colleagues also complained about the incredible (or is it incredulous?) non-refundable fees set by private institutes, which are generally considered to be expensive but inferior to state universities, especially the "ivy leagues" like the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), the University of Indonesia, Gadjahmada University and Bogor Agriculture Institute.

"I paid Rp 22 million to Trisakti for admission fees and will lose Rp 5 million of it if my daughter decides not to go there," one colleague said. "I gave up and consider the money a donation, even though it bothers me deeply."

Another colleague whose daughter will enter college next year, said curtly, "This is not charity, but theft."

As for myself, I stand to forfeit Rp 6 million of our hard- earned money if our son, who has been admitted to a top university in Bandung, West Java, is accepted to and decides to attend ITB instead.

The public has been complaining against this unfair practice, but the grumbling never turned into a loud roar -- and universities took advantage of this situation to retain the "no refund" scheme, which gave them billions every year in easy money.

Many may be willing to "donate", say, Rp 1 million to universities as a consequence of last-minute withdrawals, but obviously not Rp 5 million or Rp 6 million: The average Indonesian sells a house, land or empties their life savings to send their kids to university.

I'm sure the withdrawal form and accompanying administrative procedures don't cost millions -- or an arm and a leg.

In an odd coincidence, a timely Sampoerna A Mild television ad has raised issue about the astronomical education fees with a tag-line: "Just question it."

But are those in the know doing so? University administrators and boards should also function as guardians of ethics and morals -- central components of civilization.

And while nothing's for free, we can't get nothing for something.

-- Ardimas Sasdi