Minister Says New University of the Republic of Indonesia Won't Oversee All Campuses

Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology Brian Yuliarto has stated that the function of his ministry remains unchanged following the establishment of the new University of the Republic of Indonesia (URI). “No, our function has not changed,” Brian said at the Presidential Palace Complex in Jakarta on Thursday (23/7). He also clarified that URI is not tasked with overseeing all universities across Indonesia. Brian said that duty and function remain with the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology. “It does not mean URI will oversee all campuses, no,” he stated. Brian further explained that the core purpose of URI is as an affirmative action programme to prepare human resources for strategic positions. He elaborated that these strategic positions could include assignments in frontier, outermost and disadvantaged (3T) regions or in national priority programmes. Additionally, Brian said that URI’s budget would not disrupt the budget of the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology. President Prabowo Subianto recently established the University of the Republic of Indonesia, appointing Donny Ermawan and Yos Sunitiyoso as Governor and Deputy Governor of URI. Separately, Minister of State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi said the University of the Republic of Indonesia institution is designed to produce future national leaders by adopting leadership education models implemented in several countries. “This has been prepared for a long time. It’s just that the timing wasn’t right for a while. I will explain the details later. So, we are learning from several countries that have educational institutions specifically designed to prepare future leaders,” Pras said at the Presidential Palace Complex. Pras noted that government officials, state-owned enterprise officials, and even regional heads generally have attended education at such institutions. “All government officials, all state-owned enterprise officials, even governors and regents must enter or have attended education at one institution,” he said. Through a similar model, the government hopes that future Indonesian leaders will possess both technical capabilities and a strong national outlook.