UI admission program causes confusion

UI admission program causes confusion

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The announcement of the controversial special admission program
at the University of Indonesia (UI) has confused parents and
would-be students as most do not have a clear picture of the
procedures and requirements of the program, except that it is for
people who can afford tens of millions of rupiah as "down
payments".

The confusion was evident on Tuesday, the second day of
registration for UI's Independent Talent and Achievement Program
(PPMM), at UI's admission counter on Jl. Salemba, Central
Jakarta.

"My son took the state university admission test (SPMB)
earlier. He chose the school of mining at Gadjah Mada University.
Is it possible for him to pick UI's school of international
relations in the special admission program?" asked a mother, who
works at UI's School of Medicine. "Will he need to take another
admission test?"

The mother did not realize that all applicants are required to
take the state test before registering for the special admission
program. She also did not realize that her son had to pick one of
the options for the SPMB test.

Daliyono, a staff member at the counter, said that the SPMB
result would be very important and that the amount of the payment
agreed by parents would not be the only reason used in accepting
students.

PPMM applicants will not have to take another admission test
since UI will refer to the SPMB test results, which will be
announced in early August. The application itself will be closed
on July 19.

UI claimed that it will only accept candidates whose test
result is no more than 5 percent below the standard required to
pass the SPMB. If the standard to pass the SPMB is 780, the
minimum test score to be eligible for special admission is at
least 741.

Daliyono admitted that many confused parents had asked for a
guarantee of a seat in the university if they could afford to pay
a high amount of money.

"A high ranking military officer came one day and asked us if
he paid a minimum payment of Rp 60 million (some US$7,320), would
it mean his son would automatically be admitted?" he quoted the
father as saying.

Daliyono explained that the payment for the PPMM candidates
would take place once the students were admitted in the
university. The announcement will be on Aug. 8. While the minimum
payment varies between Rp 25 million and Rp 60 million based on
the schools chosen by the students.

"Prior to the announcement of the special admission program,
each applicant only needed to pay the Rp 200,000 registration
fee," he said.

Each student admitted via the PPMM program will have to pay Rp
7.5 million tuition per semester, far higher than the tuition
paid by regular students of between Rp 1.25 million and Rp 1.5
million per semester.

UI spokeswoman Diennaryati Cokrosuprihantono said that the
parents' confusion was not caused by a problem of dissemination.

"We have placed our ads in various print and visual media.
They must have been missed the ads," she claimed.

As of Monday, the number of applicants who had returned their
PPMM application forms had reached 600. The special admission
program will account for 20 percent of total new student
enrollment, the rest will be taken from their scores on the SPMB.

The special admission scheme, which was launched on June 16,
has sparked public criticism leading to its temporarily closure
on June 25 following a summons to several university
administrators to the House of Representatives to explain the
issue. But state universities, including UI, have insisted on
gathering more money due to state budget constraints. UI and
other state universities were later allowed to proceed with the
program.

Requirements for UI special admission scheme

1. Applicant must have taken SPMB test.

2. The applicant's academic report from high school must be a
minimum of 7.0 grade average, in a range of 0 to 10.

3. Applicant must pay registration form fee of Rp 200,000 and
submit parents' or sponsors' readiness to pay the minimum payment
as required by the respective schools.