Private Universities Face Closure Threat as Students Defect to State Campuses

The Association of Indonesian Private Universities (Aptisi) has revealed a phenomenon where private higher education institutions (PTS) are losing students after they are accepted into state universities (PTN). This condition is causing some private universities to be vulnerable to closure.

Aptisi Chairman Budi Djatmiko confirmed reports that students who had already registered at private universities are switching to state institutions. This occurs after they are declared successful in the independent admission pathway.

“This phenomenon is no longer just an issue, but a fact on the ground that is being massively complained about by our Aptisi members during a working meeting last week in Bandung,” Budi told Republika in Jakarta on Wednesday (24/6/2026).

Budi stated that several Aptisi regions have recorded that the expansion of the independent pathway at state universities has caused private universities to lose 30 to 40 per cent of their prospective new students. He also highlighted that the status of state universities with legal autonomy (PTN-BH), whose independent pathway quota can reach 50 per cent, is severely detrimental to private campuses.

“Many prospective students who have already paid the initial registration fee at a private university end up withdrawing because they are accepted midway through the independent pathway at a state university, whose registration period often drags on until August or September,” Budi said.