Home Affairs Minister Praises Top IPDN Graduates from Humble Backgrounds

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - Minister of Home Affairs (Mendagri) Muhammad Tito Karnavian has praised the ten top prospective graduates of the Institute of Domestic Governance (IPDN) Batch XXXIII, who come from diverse backgrounds. He stated that this demonstrates the recruitment and learning processes at IPDN are functioning correctly. The prospective graduates achieved their success through ability and hard work, not due to economic privilege. “That is what makes me proud, meaning the recruitment process at the beginning was correct, and the learning process here was also correct. Because they are not from what could be called well-off backgrounds, yet they managed to reach the top ten out of 1,204 who will be inaugurated and graduated,” he said at the Balairung Rudini IPDN Jatinangor, West Java, on Wednesday (22/7/2026). While giving a briefing to the IPDN Batch XXXIII Praja Utama who are about to graduate, the Minister called the ten top prospective graduates onto the stage to ask about their backgrounds. They came from diverse family backgrounds, including children of farmers, traders, educators, entrepreneurs, and members of the TNI and Polri. “They come from ordinary family backgrounds. The top-ranked student’s parents are just construction workers from NTT. Another’s parents just run a small stall. There are some from TNI/Polri families, but from the non-commissioned officer ranks,” he said. One who particularly caught the Minister’s attention was the top-ranked graduate and recipient of the Kartika Astha Brata award, a prestigious annual award given to the best IPDN graduate Pamong Praja Muda. This year, the award was won by Aji Bayu Ramadhan, a praja registered from East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) Province. Aji achieved a Cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.84, the highest among the Batch XXXIII prospective graduates. He studied in the Government Information Engineering Technology programme at the Faculty of Government Management. In a dialogue with the Minister, Aji, who is from NTT, recounted that his father works as a labourer and his mother is a housewife. The Minister assessed that family background is not a barrier to achieving the highest accomplishments. Tito then shared his own experience as inspiration for the prospective graduates. He recounted that he also came from a modest family. However, that condition did not prevent him from striving until he became the top graduate of the Police Academy (Akpol) Batch 1987. The Minister further explained three turning points that changed his life’s journey. First, when he was accepted at Akpol. Second, when he received a Chevening Scholarship to pursue a Master of Arts in Police Studies in England at the age of 26, which broadened his perspective from a national to a global level. Third, when he completed his doctoral education (Ph.D.) at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore. According to Mendagri, education not only increases knowledge but also shapes critical thinking skills, changes mindsets, and expands networks. “The point I want to convey is that education opens scientific insight and a scientific way of thinking, so that problem-solving is always based on theory, data, and references,” he concluded.