UIN Palu and Ministry of Religious Affairs Expedite Visas for 21 Prospective International Students
Palu (ANTARA) - Universitas Islam Negeri (UIN) Datokarama Palu, Central Sulawesi, and the Ministry of Religious Affairs (Kemenag) are collaborating to expedite the visa issuance process for 21 prospective international students from various countries wishing to study at the campus.
Rector of UIN Datokarama, Prof Lukman Thahir, stated on Friday that the university has sent a letter to the Bureau of Law and Foreign Cooperation of the Ministry of Religious Affairs requesting a recommendation. “The recommendation from the Ministry of Religious Affairs serves as reinforcement and administrative completeness for visa processing by the Ministry of Law and Human Rights for the prospective international students,” he said.
He explained that the campus, through its Centre for International Relations, continues to coordinate with the 21 prospective students regarding document readiness, as well as their physical and mental preparation. “We are open. We are grateful that people from abroad want to pursue higher education at our campus. This means UIN Datokarama is in demand,” he remarked.
Lukman noted that the arrival of these 21 international students would further strengthen UIN Datokarama’s steps towards the world-class university stage.
Meanwhile, the Head of the Centre for International Relations at UIN Datokarama, Dr Darlis, stated that the prospective international students include five from Palestine, four from Pakistan, three from Nigeria, and one each from Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, India, Somalia, Thailand, and Yemen. These students were selected through a process involving document screening and interviews. “There were 486 applicants from 23 countries, but only 176 passed the administrative document stage, and 21 passed the interview stage,” he said. He added that the full support and solid collaboration from the Ministry of Religious Affairs in bringing in international students serves as a primary catalyst for the university to further soar in the global education arena.