Garuda School Boosts Admissions to Global Campuses by Up to 150 Percent

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Garuda Transformation Excellence School Programme has successfully increased the acceptance of Indonesian students into the top 100 universities worldwide by up to 150 percent.

Deputy Minister for Higher Education, Science, and Technology (Wamendiktisaintek) Stella Christie, when confirmed by ANTARA in Jakarta on Saturday, revealed that the number of students who received official Letters of Acceptance (LoA) from top global universities as of 24 April 2026 totals 330 individuals.

This figure represents a 150 percent increase compared to the 2025 period, which recorded 132 students.

“It is likely to increase further because there are still top universities like Tsinghua that have not yet announced,” she said.

Deputy Minister Stella also reported a rise in the number of LoAs received, totalling 1,567 letters, a 167 percent increase from the previous 587 letters in 2025.

She noted that this increase in student acceptances at top global universities is not limited to Garuda Transformation Excellence School students in Java.

“For example, SMAN Fajar Harapan in Aceh had only one student last year; after becoming a Garuda Transformation School, it rose to 14. MAN IC Gorontalo went from zero to seven. SMAN 10 Samarinda, from zero to 30,” explained the Deputy Minister for Higher Education, Science, and Technology.

Furthermore, she disclosed that two among the 330 accepted students have successfully entered the University of Oxford, which is the world’s number one university according to the Times Higher Education (THE) 2026 rankings.

“I personally introduced the Garuda School directly to the Vice Chancellor of Oxford,” she continued.

According to her, this achievement was attained through the hard work of school mentoring via the Garuda Transformation Programme for all participating students, from strengthening academic readiness to strategic guidance in selecting target universities.

To replicate this best practice, the Indonesian Government plans to build six new Garuda Excellence Schools and increase the number of Garuda Transformation Excellence Schools in various regions of Indonesia.

“Currently, we are in the selection stage; there are already 240 schools registered from 25 provinces in Indonesia,” stated Stella Christie.