UI students protest costly admission fees
Theresia Sufa, Depok
Members of the University of Indonesia's Student Executive Body (BEM UI) blocked the entrances to their campus in Depok, south of Jakarta, in protest against the university's current admission fees.
The first day of their apparently continuing protest action went off peacefully on Monday. However, there was no change to the university's stance on maintaining the university president's decree No. 408 on admission fees between a range of Rp 5 million (US$562) and Rp 25 million effective this academic year.
Assistant to the deputy rector for student and alumni affairs, Erwin Nurdin, made clear that the university needed sufficient funds.
"This is the real issue ... education is expensive. However, UI does pay quite a bit of attention to poor students," he said.
Erwin's superior Aris S. Soesilo said the decree stipulated a discount and special payment procedures for poor students.
"We provide Rp 3.5 billion in subsidies and another Rp 4.2 billion in scholarships each year," he revealed.
"I don't think any good student should be afraid to apply to UI because we have mechanisms to ease the fee payment. However, I will admit that our main focus remains with students from the upper income bracket."
In a bid to grant state universities more autonomy, the government decided to stop giving financial subsidies, which forced the universities to seek their own financial sources, so most decide to increase the tuition fees and admission fees for new students.
BEM UI protested the newest policy which, according to them, had deterred 27 high school graduates out of 276 they had spoken to, from continuing the process. The BEM said that 162 of the selected students had asked for a discount.
"We want the university to be more creative in raising funds, not just simply passing the burden on to parents. The amount of the admission fee should be based on how much the parents can pay," said BEM UI chairman Gari Primananda.
UI spokeswoman Farida Haryoko said the university expected some 3,500 new students. The announcement as to which students will be accepted is set for Aug. 12 and Aug. 13, while the registration will be held from Aug. 18 to Aug. 20.
Poor students could apply for discounts by submitting letters of recommendation from subdistrict chiefs, the parents' salary receipts and electricity bills of the last three months, she said.
"As for students who got in without tests, many have yet to register. That also happened in previous years because the students didn't feel like they would fit in with the major we chose for them."
Aris hinted at the possibility that people would all claim they were poor to avoid the costly fees.
Noted expert on management and UI lecturer Rheinald Kasali, who was accompanying Aris while talking to reporters, added that the admission fees were also aimed at maintaining the university's quality.
"If UI stayed cheap while more private universities appeared, eventually UI will no longer have quality teachers," he said.