University of Indonesia sees 50% more freshmen

JAKARTA (JP): The number of freshmen students at the University of Indonesia (UI) has increased by almost 50 percent this year, compared to last year, UI rector M.K. Tadjudin said.

Tadjudin made the disclosure in a speech during a graduation and initiation ceremony on Saturday at the university campus in Depok, Bogor regency, south of Jakarta.

The number of freshmen this year reaches 7,969 compared to 5,320 last year.

"This is the biggest number the University of Indonesia has ever had in a year," Tadjudin said.

Seven percent of the freshmen students are from outside Java and 12 percent from small towns all over the country.

This year 3,162 students from a variety of study programs graduated from the University of Indonesia. Since it was established in 1950, 50,170 students have graduated from the university.

In this year's graduation ceremony, UI rewarded Rp 1.92 million (US$872.72) to a School of Economics student, Zainab, who became the university's 50,000th graduate.

'No incident'

In remarks made after the ceremony, Tadjudin declined to confirm the death of a freshmen student, Amirullah, on Thursday. She reportedly died after taking part in the university's education orientation program, which is designed to introduce freshmen students to life and study on campus.

"There has been no incident at UI. Nothing," Tadjudin told the Jakarta Post's in reply to the question of whether the policy regarding the program would be changed after the Amirullah incident.

According to Umar Mansur, UI's assistant to the rector in charge of student affairs, participation in the orientation program is required for freshmen students. The 10-day program, which last from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily consists of three days of lectures on the university's organizations and student associations.

This is followed by six days of lectures on the Pancasila national ideology, and one day -- the last -- of faculty activities.

Under the university's rules regarding the program, the punishment for violation of the rules includes five push-ups at the maximum for male students and lighter exercise for female students, Umar said. Violations include such acts as being late and disobedience.

The orientation program is a prerequisite, a condition for participating in the Pancasila lectures. Freshmen students who fail to join the Pancasila lecture in the year of their matriculation are disqualified from attending the course and are obliged to take it the following year, Tadjudin said. (01)