Studying at a university can be an expensive business
JAKARTA (JP): Attending a state university is probably the dream of almost all Indonesian high school graduates and most parents would be very happy to see their children accepted at one of these universities.
The reason is that state universities are cheaper and are generally of higher quality than their private counterparts.
High school graduates however have to scrap for the limited seats available at the state universities. Those who miss out end up going to private universities and have to pay higher tuition fees.
There are 51 state universities and 1,262 private universities in Indonesia, ready to attract this year's estimated 1.3 million high school graduates, according to government figures.
State universities charge an average enrollment fee of Rp 1 million (US$423) per student.
The most-coveted state University of Indonesia charges about Rp 500,000 in tuition fees for one semester, plus about Rp 200,000 for extras including the university yellow jacket, initiation period fee, and initiation period Pancasila course fee.
The state Teachers Training and Education Institute (IKIP) of Jakarta charges Rp 1.06 million for enrollment and first semester tuition.
Private universities charge from Rp 1.5 million to more than Rp 10 million for enrollment. This might include tuition for one semester or one academic year and the so-called donation for building maintenance, which does not exist at state universities.
Among the private universities which charge relatively low fees is the Universitas Persada Indonesia on Jl. Salemba, Central Jakarta. It charges between Rp 700,000 and Rp 1.8 million for tuition and building maintenance per semester.
"We shall enlarge our facilities on another three hectares of land this year," said Swati Suhaemi, Persada's official in charge of the master management program.
The university hopes to increase its capacity this year to 8,000 students, from about 6,500 last year.
Some private universities lure students with sophisticated facilities and tutorials in English. All this, however, pushes the educational expenses even higher.
The four-year-old Indonusa Esa Unggul University of Jakarta offers a Bachelor in Business Administration program which is fully validated by the Britain's University of Wales.
After paying US$100 for the admission test and being accepted, students have to pay an entrance fee of $2,000, an administration fee of $200, and a tuition fee of $3,750 on subjects of 30 fixed credit points for the first term.
Private universities' favorite schools always charge higher fees than the less popular departments.
The favorite school at the Indonesian Christian University (UKI) in Jakarta, for instance, is the medical school.
To get into UKI's medical school, students have to pay Rp 8.4 million for building maintenance and tuition for one semester, as compared to the Rp 1.85 million charged by the least-popular school of education.
Head of the university's recruiting team G. Tambunan said the medical school charged higher fees because it has to maintain more training facilities than the school of education.
UKI offers full scholarships for bright high school students from poor families and from backward areas such as Nias island in North Sumatra and the Eastern part of Indonesia.
Some universities don't give scholarships to the students but discount the tuition fees if the students scored highly in the entrance test.
Trisakti University, which is considered among the country's elite universities, charges new medical school students a maximum of Rp 7 million entrance fee, which includes the tuition fees for two semesters, according to its rector, Mudanton Murtedjo.
"People can also pay it in installments," he told The Jakarta Post.
But a university public relations officer, Bira, said a student who gets the best marks during the entrance test has to pay Rp 10 million for the medical school, and Rp 3.5 million for law school.
Those who do less well pay more, she said.
Students also have to pay another Rp 860,000 for health insurance, the university jacket, the initiation period fee and the Pancasila course during the initiation period. Students also have to pay between Rp 60,000 and Rp 75,000 for each credit taken during the first semester, she said.
These illustrations show that university certificates are really expensive. And experience shows the certificates can't always guarantee a good job for the holders. (team)
University School* Entrance Semester Tuition
fee fee per credit ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Trisakti Art & Design Rp 8m Rp 1.2m Rp 60,000
Medical Rp 10m Rp 1.2m Rp 60,000
Pelita Harapan Economics Rp 6m Rp 1.6m Rp 90,000
Engineering Rp 6m Rp 1.6m Rp 90,000
Persada Indonesia (YAI) Economics Nil Rp 1.4m Rp 35,000
Engineering Nil Rp 750,000 Rp 35,000
Indonusa Esa Unggul Economics Rp 2m Rp 600,000 Rp 15,000
Engineering Rp 2.5m Rp 600,000 Rp 15,000
Perbanas Economics Rp 6m Rp 900,000 Included
Mercu Buana Economics Rp 3.5m Rp 250,000 Rp 35,000
Engineering Rp 7.3m Rp 250,000 Rp 40,000
Atma Jaya Medical Rp 10.5m Rp 445,000 Rp 65,000
Psychology Rp 4.5m Rp 445,000 Rp 44,000
ISTN (National Institute Engineering Rp 5.9m Included Included Institute of Science Mathematics Rp 1.2m Included Included and Technology
Tarumanegara Economics Rp 3m Rp 920,000 Rp 35,000
Engineering Rp 6m Rp 1.2m Rp 35,000
Pancasila Economics Rp 6.4m Rp 900,000 Rp 25,000
Law Rp 6.2m Rp 450,000 Rp 20,000
* Most popular schools at each university