Parents of Prospective Students Complain About the Chaos in UI's Talent Scouting Selection Process
The chaos in the talent scouting pathway or international class selection at Universitas Indonesia (UI) has sparked protests from parents of prospective students. Several participants who were initially declared to have passed suddenly failed after the system experienced a disruption.
One parent of a participant, Wiene Andriyana, said her child was initially declared accepted during the early announcement accessible on Monday evening, 17 March 2026.
“Around 7:00 PM WIB, it could already be viewed. Some passed, some did not. My child was among those declared accepted. There is screenshot evidence, and it has even been shared with friends,” said Wiene when contacted on Wednesday, 18 March 2026.
However, the situation changed within hours. Around 8:00 PM, the system was said to have experienced a disruption and could not be accessed. When it returned to normal around 9:30 PM, her child’s acceptance status had changed to not accepted. “What was previously green suddenly turned red. Even though we already have the previous evidence,” she said.
Wiene explained that indications of the problem had actually appeared since the registration period. This talent scouting pathway is an invitation route from schools, with selection based on documents such as report cards, achievements, English proficiency, and a motivation essay.
However, according to information from the school, the registration system had already experienced disruptions from the start. “There were errors from the beginning. So the system is not entirely reliable,” she said.
In addition, this pathway is paid, with a registration fee of around Rp 1.8 million per participant. Wiene expressed her disappointment with UI’s poor selection system.
Wiene said she has submitted complaints through the help centre and email to UI. However, to date, there has been no detailed explanation regarding the change in acceptance status.
According to her, the official statement provided only mentioned system maintenance and affirmed the final result at 9:30 PM as the final decision. “There is no explanation why it could change. It’s just said that the final result cannot be contested,” she said.
She assessed that this explanation does not address the main issue, namely the alleged inconsistency in the selection system.
The chaos that occurred, she said, is not merely a technical matter. Wiene highlighted the psychological impact experienced by the participants, including her child. Children who were initially declared to have passed, she said, had already celebrated and shared the news before having to accept the bitter reality.
“Imagine already receiving congratulations, even some have had small thanksgiving gatherings. Then having to explain again that they were not accepted. That is very demoralising,” she said.
She stated that the social and emotional impact of this incident cannot be taken lightly, especially experienced by students during this important transitional period to higher education.
Separately, UI issued an apology for the inconsistency in the display of selection results status on the Talent Scouting Programme for Bachelor’s International Special Class (S1 KKI) enrollment system that occurred on Tuesday, 17 March 2026.
UI’s Director of Public Relations, Media, Government, and International Relations, Erwin Agustian Panigoro, revealed that this inconsistency occurred within a 40-minute window after the system displayed non-final data.
“This moment can cause confusion and disappointment, especially for registrants who temporarily received inaccurate information,” Erwin said in a written statement received on Wednesday, 18 March 2026.
Therefore, Erwin continued, registrants who need further explanation can send messages via email to [email protected].
“Currently, the system has returned to normal, and the Talent Scouting Programme S1 KKI selection results displayed on the enrollment.ui.ac.id page are the final and official selection results, through a fair and transparent process,” said Erwin.