University entrance tests begin nationwide

YOGYAKARTA (JP): Gregorius Aryoko, one of tens of thousands of applicants sitting the two-day state university entrance examinations (UMPTN) had to do the test on Tuesday in bed, as he was still under treatment for various diseases.

Aryoko, resident of Condong Catur, Sleman regency, has been suffering from avian flu, in addition to dengue fever and typhus.

He has been treated for two weeks at Yogyakarta Pantirapih Hospital but had to take the test as he wants to continue his studies at state university.

"My son is obsessed in wanting to know more about his avian flu, that's why he wants to become a vet and has chosen the veterinary school at Gadjah Mada University as his second choice. His first choice is electrical engineering," Aryoko's father, Yanuardi who, along with his wife, watched his son doing the test at Gadjah Mada University campus.

Beside Aryoko, the center of attention was on two blind participants who did their test using braille.

Each of them was assisted by one person assigned by the committee.

The blind participants in Yogyakarta might thank the organizing committee of Group 45 as test sheets using braille were made available.

In other cities like Bandung and Surabaya test sheets using braille were not available. Blind participants were accompanied by two assistants. One read the questions while the other one wrote the answers given by the participants.

Most of the test sheets contained multiple choice questions.

"I could not understand Bahasa Indonesia very well," blind Hazbullah, who hailed from Aceh, said after doing his tests at the Bandung Institute of Technology.

In Surabaya, Totok Riyanto and M. Arwan, two blind participants, both said they wanted to study at the State University of Surabaya.

Another Surabaya-based participant Wiwik Eka Herawati, like Aryoko in Yogyakarta, did the test in bed. She had just broken one of her legs in an accident.

Drop

Nationwide, the number of students who joined this year's entrance test dropped slightly by 1.8 percent to 464,858 students from 473,402 in 2000.

Secretary executive of the central committee organizing the test, Soesmalijah Soewondo, said, that this drop in the number of participants could mean anything as only 73,000 seats are available for them in the country's 52 state universities.

She said this drop could be because more high school graduates have sought diploma or vocational programs offered by both state and private universities or other institutions of higher education.

They are able to finish such programs within one to three years, while undergraduate programs would take them at least five years.

The two-day test ends on Wednesday, though the result will only be officially announced on Aug. 6.

In Jakarta, the number of students participating in this year's test dropped by 10 percent, from 69,276 last year to 62,042.

In Yogyakarta, the number of participants slightly declined compared to the previous year.

There are now 46,551 participants, while last year there were 49,554.

The capital of Central Java, Semarang, had a similar story. The organizing committee said that 21,418 high school graduate students took the tests. Last year there were 22,449 students.

In Surabaya, however, the number of participants decreased from 34,539 last year to 33,500 this year.

The number of UMPTN in Bandung dropped by 7.2 percent, from 58,313 last year to 54,111 this year.

Rector of Soedirman University in Purwokerto told The Jakarta Post that the number of high school graduates taking tests to enter the university dropped to 9,497 this year from 10,090 last year. "This is understandable as the grouping system means that to enter Soedirman University a student must not take the test in Purwokerto."

As many as 118 Indonesian students abroad and 11 foreign students, also participated in this year's tests.

The foreign students consisted of one Japanese, five Iranians and another five from Turkey.

Director general of higher education at the Ministry of National education Satryo Sumantri Brodjonegoro said that foreign students were not allowed to enroll in private universities in Indonesia. "For state universities, they have to pay full tuition, at a higher rate than their Indonesian fellow students pay," he told the Post. (team)