Health Minister Proposes Reducing Student Quotas for Medical Faculties with High Failure Rates
Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin has proposed an evaluation of medical faculties that produce a high number of graduates who fail the medical profession competency test, known as ‘retakers’. According to the Minister, universities with high retaker rates should face restrictions on their new student quotas until the quality of their education improves.
‘If they graduate many students but those students subsequently fail the competency exam, it means their quotas must be reduced until they can truly improve their educational quality,’ Budi stated during a hearing with Commission IX of the House of Representatives (DPR) in Jakarta on Monday, 8 June 2026.
Budi noted that while the Ministry of Health does not have the authority to intervene directly in the administration of medical competency tests, the Ministry has received numerous complaints regarding the high number of retakers within Indonesia’s medical trainee ecosystem. A ‘retaker’ refers to a medical graduate who has not passed the competency test and is therefore unable to practise as a doctor. Ministry of Health data shows that 63 per cent of retakers have taken the exam fewer than three times, while 37 per cent—nearly 1,000 individuals—have taken the exam at least three times without success. Additionally, approximately 297 participants are at risk of losing their chance at graduation if they fail their next attempt.
Budi argued that retaker data should not be viewed merely as an individual issue but as a basis for evaluating medical education institutions. He emphasised that universities must take responsibility for ensuring graduates possess adequate competence before sitting for the exam. Furthermore, Budi suggested that candidates who fail should only be required to retake the specific competency modules they failed, rather than the entire examination syllabus.
In addition, the Minister proposed reducing the financial burden on retakers during their waiting period for subsequent exams. He suggested that participants who only need to complete competency testing should no longer be required to pay tuition fees to their universities, as is currently the case. Budi noted that retakers currently still have to pay 30 to 50 per cent of tuition fees and additional tutoring costs for retakes, despite no longer receiving any formal teaching schedules.
Budi emphasised that a solution to the high retaker rate must be found urgently, as it hinders the target of meeting Indonesia’s medical workforce needs. Based on national projections, Indonesia still faces a shortage of approximately 93,200 general practitioners. ‘We are in great need of doctors,’ he said.
The high number of retakers in Indonesia has come under scrutiny from Commission IX of the DPR, following reports from the Indonesian General Practitioners Association that over a thousand medical candidates were at risk of dropping out due to repeated failures in national competency tests. During the same meeting, the Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Science, and Technology, Fauzan, reported that the number of retakers until the end of 2025 stood at 1,384, representing approximately 1 per cent of the 130,655 participants who have taken the competency test since 2014. However, Fauzan refuted the claim that thousands were at risk of dropping out, clarifying that only 376 individuals had exhausted their study period and were thus unable to take the exam again, while 1,008 others still have opportunities to sit for the exam within their maximum study period.