UI students protest costly admission fees

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.