Governor Partners with 36 Campuses to Help Put Central Kalimantan Residents Through Higher Education

Palangka Raya (ANTARA) - The Provincial Government of Central Kalimantan (Kalteng) has partnered with 36 universities in the region to facilitate access to higher education for thousands of people, possibly more, through the education-assistance programme.

“We do not want to see any sons and daughters of Central Kalimantan unable to study, unable to go to university, unable to access medical care, unable to eat,” Governor Agustiar Sabran asserted in Palangka Raya on Saturday.

“This is part of the Strategic Programme in the Education Sector for 2026 as a concrete step to improve access to and the quality of education for the community,” he said.

The collaboration with dozens of higher education institutions is expected to strengthen the synergy between local government and the academic world in raising the quality of human resources, while opening more educational opportunities for the younger generation of Central Kalimantan.

“We want local sons and daughters to obtain access to decent and quality education,” he said.

Agustiar emphasised that budget efficiency will not be a barrier for the local government to continue to prioritise the education sector as the main development priority.

In 2025, as many as 3,060 students in Central Kalimantan were recorded as recipients of this education aid; in 2026 the recipient quota will be increased to 15,000 students.

He hoped for support from the central government, especially the Ministry of Education, Higher Education, Research and Technology (Kemendiksaintek) and the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) so that the various education development programmes in Central Kalimantan can continue to run and grow.

The acting head of the Central Kalimantan Education Office (Disdik) Reza Prabowo added that the education programme for students is free tuition and is an implementation of “One House One Scholar”.

“The funds are not received directly by the students, because we also evaluate the programmes that have been implemented previously,” he said.

Therefore, for this education aid programme, the funds will be handed over to the universities, and universities are prohibited from levying charges on students who are registered as recipients of the free-tuition programme.