Trending on Social Media: What Are the Obligations of LPDP Scholarship Recipients?

Trending on Social Media: What are the Obligations of LPDP Scholarship Recipients?

• LPDP Website

Jakarta, VIVA – Recently, the Lembaga Pengelola Dana Pendidikan (LPDP) scholarship has been a hot topic on social media. This started with a video uploaded by Dwi Sasetningtyas. In her post, Dwi Sasetningtyas showed that she had received a letter from the British Home Office regarding citizenship for her second child.

In the video, she mentioned that it would be enough if only she was an Indonesian citizen, not her children.

“I know the world seems unfair. But it’s enough if only I am an Indonesian citizen, not my children. We will ensure that our children have strong foreign passports,” she said.

The video then went viral on social media and received harsh criticism from netizens, especially since it was known that Dwi Sasetningtyas and her husband, Arya Iwantoro, are LPDP scholarship recipients.

So, what is the LPDP scholarship, and what are the responsibilities of LPDP scholarship recipients?

According to various sources, the LPDP scholarship is a scholarship officially organised by the Ministry of Finance (Kemenkeu). This scholarship program is held to help prospective Indonesian students pursue education at the undergraduate (S1), master’s (S2), or doctoral (S3) levels.

Those who participate in this scholarship have the opportunity to study at universities both domestically and abroad that partner with LPDP. Later, students who pass this scholarship will receive tuition fees, living expenses, food expenses, transportation costs, and insurance.

However, it should also be noted that this scholarship is not just a free ticket to study. There is a significant responsibility attached to each recipient. According to an official statement from the LPDP account on a thread, Wednesday, 25 February 2026, students who receive this scholarship are required to sign a commitment to return to their homeland after their studies are completed. In addition, they must also prepare a post-study plan and explain how they will contribute to Indonesia.

This scheme is known as 2N+1.

“According to the regulations, all LPDP awardees and alumni have the obligation to carry out service and contribute in Indonesia for twice the duration of their studies + 1 year,” wrote the LPDP account on the thread.

This means that if someone studies for a master’s degree for two years, they are required to carry out service to Indonesia for four years plus one year, or a total of five years, working in the country. Every alumnus is required to serve and reside physically in Indonesia.