UI: No Plans Yet to Close Programmes

Universitas Indonesia has admitted that it has not received any official letter or written information regarding the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology’s (Kemendiktisaintek) plan to close study programmes assessed as irrelevant to industry needs. Therefore, UI’s Director of Public Relations, Media, Government, and International Affairs, Erwin Agustian Panigoro, stated that UI has not determined any steps regarding the plan. UI also cannot yet identify which programmes are considered irrelevant to industry and thus need to be closed. “Because there is no official letter or directive from the relevant ministry regarding the closure of programmes, for now UI has no discussions or plans regarding which study programmes will be considered for closure,” said Erwin when contacted on Saturday, 25 April 2026. Previously, the plan to close study programmes deemed irrelevant to the workforce was announced by Kemendiktisaintek’s Secretary General Badri Munir Sukoco at the 2026 National Population Symposium in Badung Regency, Bali, on Thursday, 23 April 2026. Budi explained that this step is taken to reduce the gap between university graduates and the competencies needed in the workforce. Kemendikti records that campuses graduate up to 1.9 million bachelor’s degrees each year. However, said Budi, these graduates struggle to find jobs because the needs in the field do not match their educational backgrounds. Badri stated that this plan will be executed in the near future. He then asked universities to willingly select which programmes need to be closed. “Later, there may be some that we have to execute in a not too long time regarding programmes; we need to select, sort, and if necessary close them to increase relevance,” said Badri Munir Sukoco, monitored from the YouTube replay of the Ministry of Population and Family Development.