Higher Education Ministry: Medical Collegium Connectivity Supports Constitutional Court Ruling
Jakarta — The Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology (Kemdiktisaintek) stated that the connectivity and cohesion of independent medical collegia are key to supporting the Constitutional Court (MK) ruling on medical profession governance.
The statement was made by the Ministry’s Expert Staff and Chair of the Accelerated Education Task Force for Specialist Doctor Education Programmes (PPDS), Tri Hanggono Achmad, during an academic forum titled “Strengthening Medical Education Systems Following Constitutional Court Decisions Numbers 111/PUU-XXII/2024 and 182/PUU-XXII/2024” held at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Indonesia, Jakarta, on Friday.
“In the medical education system, collegia serve as a bridge between the academic community, educational institutions, and the professional regulatory system. Therefore, collegium independence is considered crucial to ensure that medical education standards remain knowledge-based and are not influenced by bureaucratic or political interests,” Tri stated.
He also emphasised the importance of medical study programmes at universities in mapping the need for specialist doctors to ensure their placement in required locations. Consequently, input from medical collegia is essential to enhance the quality of medical education in Indonesia.
According to Tri, Kemdiktisaintek has a strategic interest in ensuring the existence of collegia as independent scientific bodies, as they play a role in establishing competency standards, curricula, and evaluation of doctor and specialist doctor education conducted by faculties of medicine at higher education institutions.
The strengthening of the collegium’s position in this academic forum is linked to Constitutional Court Decision Number 111/PUU-XXII/2024, which examined several provisions in Law Number 17 of 2023 on Health.
In this decision, the Constitutional Court affirmed that collegia are scientific institutions that must operate independently in determining standards for medical professional education.
Furthermore, the Court emphasised that the formation or control of collegia by government authorities could potentially conflict with the principles of scientific independence. Consequently, the government’s role is limited to administrative aspects, such as approval or registration, without intervention in scientific substance.
This decision also relates to Constitutional Court Decision Number 182/PUU-XXII/2024, which collectively strengthens the institutional position of the Indonesian Health Council and collegia as part of an independent health profession governance system accountable directly to the President.
Constitutionally, Constitutional Court rulings are final and binding, requiring all parties to align their policies and implementing regulations with the court’s decision.