UGM demands 'voluntary' donation

UGM demands 'voluntary' donation

My younger brother passed the selection test to join Gajah
Mada University (UGM) held in Senayan, Jakarta. Before taking the
test, my brother did not fill in the column on the registration
form specifying the amount he would give as a voluntary donation.
He comes from a poor family and would never be able to afford to
pay a voluntary donation ranging between Rp 2 million and Rp 10
million.

When he saw the administration officer at the university in
Yogyakarta on June 14, he was told that he would be accepted if
he could pay Rp 10 million as a voluntary donation.

Yogyakarta is quite a long distance from Jakarta and the trip
is expensive for a poor family. Why didn't UGM tell my brother
before taking the test in Jakarta that he would be obliged to pay
that amount after passing the selection test to be accepted as a
student at this university. Why did the university call my
brother to Yogyakarta even though he did not fill in the column
about the voluntary donation on the registration form?

It seems that starting 2003 education is only for the rich. As
in the colonial times, education can only be enjoyed by the
privileged few. In Soeharto's times, education was not as
expensive as it is today. The government must take action to
ensure that education can be enjoyed by all and that eligibility
is not determined by money.

DEWI M. SIMAMORA

Bekasi, West Java