Mendiktisaintek: Students Should Not Fear Dreaming Big
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Minister of Higher Education, Science, and Technology (Mendiktisaintek) Brian Yuliarto has encouraged students and university students to keep learning and not to fear dreaming big, as Indonesia’s future rests in their hands.
He conveyed this message while leading the ceremony for the Commemoration of National Education Day (Hardiknas) 2026 at the courtyard of Building A of the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education (Kemendikdasmen) in Senayan, Central Jakarta, on Saturday morning.
“To the students and university students, continue to learn, question, try, and create. Do not fear dreaming big. Indonesia’s future is not inherited but built through character, knowledge, collaboration, and the courage to step forward,” said Mendiktisaintek Brian.
He added that the commemoration of National Education Day serves as a moment to reaffirm the meaning of education as a path to humanising humanity, building character, enlightening the nation’s life, and advancing civilisation.
According to Brian, Ki Hajar Dewantara has bequeathed educational values through the principles of ing ngarsa sung tulada (leading by example), ing madya mangun karso (building determination in the middle), and tut wuri handayani (guiding from behind), which must be continued to enlighten the mind, foster empathy, and guide learners to become whole individuals.
“Education is not just about what we know, but about who we become,” Brian emphasised.
On that occasion, he also invited all higher education institutions to participate in realising national self-reliance through the development of research and innovation.
This is because the national education system is truly built within a complete and sustainable ecosystem so that scientific knowledge can be utilised to become innovation.
He stressed that Indonesia can no longer merely be a user of scientific knowledge but must become a creator of scientific knowledge that can produce world-class scientists.
“The aspiration to produce world-class scientists from our own nation’s children is not the agenda of a single level of education, but the result of a long journey in national education, starting from learning in schools and deepened in higher education by lecturers and researchers, supported by the entire national ecosystem,” he said.