Haedar Nashir Urges Universities Not to Just Chase Student Numbers

The Chairman of the Central Leadership of Muhammadiyah, Professor Haedar Nashir, believes that the concept of Indonesian education must be returned to its fundamental principles as referenced in Article 31 of the 1945 Constitution. Furthermore, Haedar highlighted concerns regarding universities that are merely chasing student numbers.

Haedar stated that the fundamental concept of Indonesian education is to enlighten the nation’s life. This is reinforced in Article 31 of the 1945 Constitution to create individuals who are faithful, pious, and possess noble character, while upholding the values of religion, science, and civilisation.

“However, in subsequent developments, the orientation of education has become solely focused on intellectual intelligence,” he told reporters in Kasihan, Bantul, on Saturday (4/7/2026).

He noted that by focusing only on intellectual intelligence, spiritual intelligence is being neglected. Consequently, an opposing trend has emerged that focuses solely on spiritual matters.

“Therefore, return the Indonesian education system to its basic concept, to the preamble and Article 31 of the 1945 Constitution,” he said.

According to him, achieving this is actually simple, as experts can formulate policies that continue to refer to Article 31 of the 1945 Constitution, which regulates the rights and obligations of citizens in the field of education.

“Therefore, including in higher education, I view it as an error if they are merely chasing students like a city bus chasing passengers. One must be careful; otherwise, hundreds of students may accumulate in a university, but the educational capacity and the delivery of learning are poor, which will lead to a disparity,” he said.

Additionally, he warned against turning universities into purely business interests, considering that the primary goal of education is to enlighten the nation.

“Furthermore, if a university is based solely on business, the state must also be cautious. Why? Because the primary goal is to enlighten the nation’s life without discrimination or bias; it must be for everyone. That is why I believe a reorientation is necessary, so that the direction of Indonesian education does not go astray,” he concluded.