Minister Urges Scholarship Recipients Abroad to Shun Entitlement, Become 'Fighters'
Minister of Higher Education, Science, and Technology (Mendiktisaintek) Brian Yuliarto is forging the mental fortitude of Garuda Scholarship recipients, urging them to shed any sense of entitlement. Minister Brian called on them to transform into tough fighters, both while pursuing their education abroad and upon returning to Indonesia.
During the orientation for the Unggul Garuda Transformation High School Programme and the briefing for the first batch of 2026 Beasiswa Garuda awardees in Jakarta on Thursday, the minister highlighted the phenomenon of scholarship graduates who are reluctant to return to Indonesia, citing a lack of facilities or suitable job opportunities.
Mendiktisaintek stated that such reasons are unjustifiable, as the awardees are high-achieving individuals who should be brave enough to compete and create new opportunities domestically, rather than simply waiting to be facilitated by the state.
“If you are the best, why should you be afraid to compete in Indonesia against those who could not study abroad? So do not be afraid, and do not complain later after passing that there is no one to facilitate you. If there is no suitable field, you create it in Indonesia,” said Minister Brian Yuliarto.
The minister recounted his own past experience of studying in Japan. He admitted he did not receive a scholarship from the Indonesian government, but instead sought one from the Japanese government while working odd jobs, including as a train cleaner, to survive.
Drawing from the tough experience of cleaning train carriages in the middle of the night, he reminded the students not to be whiny or complain easily over trivial matters, such as a one- or two-day delay in scholarship fund disbursement.
Beyond physical resilience, the minister warned these top students against the trap of intellectual arrogance, or the ‘smartest in the room’ syndrome. According to Minister Brian, feeling like the smartest person is the beginning of a disaster, as it breeds a fragile mentality when faced with real academic pressure at the world’s top universities.
To prepare them for the rigours of education and life, the minister instilled three fundamental character pillars, abbreviated as PPG: Perseverance, Persistence, and Grit.
According to Mendiktisaintek, people with PPG character will focus more on solving problems than merely complaining. He even challenged the awardees to be independent by seeking their own master’s degree scholarships from professors abroad, without demanding further facilities from the Indonesian government after completing their undergraduate studies.
“Finally, I leave you with this message: be humble, be modest. Great people are often those who do not create drama, do not seek the limelight, but instead work with perseverance,” concluded Minister Brian Yuliarto.