Higher Education Minister requests more digital student assignments

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Minister of Higher Education, Science, and Technology Brian Yuliarto has requested universities to accelerate digitalisation in lecture activities, including for student assignments. Meeting at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Monday, Brian stated that he has asked campuses to create a more efficient work culture, including by digitalising several aspects, such as registration and transcript checks, to make student mobility simpler and more efficient. “We are also requesting that assignments be as digital as possible, so for example, final assignments that previously had to be printed five times can be reduced,” he said. Not only that, the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology is also encouraging the arrangement of courses so that educators can follow the one-day-a-week work-from-home (WFH) provision. “We certainly provide to the campuses how lecturers, when working, are not spread over five days, but perhaps can be four days, one day can work from home,” he explained. “That is by arranging lectures to be more concentrated,” he added. Previously, the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology stated that it has issued Circular Letter Number 2 of 2026 for adjusting work patterns in the ministry’s environment and academic activities at universities. In the circular signed on 2 April 2026, the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology encourages universities to implement proportional distance learning methods. The lecture policy is specifically aimed at students from the fifth semester upwards as well as postgraduate programmes. However, exceptions are given for courses that require physical face-to-face, such as laboratory work, workshops, studios, or clinics. In addition to adjustments to work patterns and lecture schedules, the circular instructs the optimisation of digital platform services for academic and administrative activities.