Minister Warns Lecturers: Guide Students, Don't Take Over Community Work

Minister of Higher Education, Science, and Technology Brian Yuliarto has cautioned lecturers against taking over the roles of students, insisting they should instead act as mentors when students engage with communities. Speaking at the launch of the ‘Mahasiswa Berdampak’ (Impactful Students) programme in Jakarta on Monday, he stressed that the essence of the community empowerment initiative is to position students as the primary agents of change, with universities facilitating institutional support. “Lecturers must not take over the role of students, but rather be present as academic supervisors, quality guardians, and a bridge between research results and community needs,” he said. Brian further instructed university leaders to ensure that students’ hard work in target villages is formally recognised through the Semester Credit System (SKS). He noted that the programme should not be viewed merely as a competition between campuses for ministry funding. Reflecting on the previous year’s implementation, the ministry received 957 proposals for the Community Empowerment by Student Executive Boards (PMBEM) scheme, funding 263 of them with a total budget of Rp30.1 billion. Brian expressed hope that this year’s collaboration between students and lecturers would foster sustainable community self-reliance and a spirit of mutual cooperation. “Student leadership does not begin after graduation; it begins when students dare to show up, listen, and take real responsibility for the surrounding community,” he concluded.