Steep tuition fee hikes ‘reversed’ after student backlash

In recent weeks university students across Indonesia have held demonstrations to protest steep rises in tuition fees from January this year, which left many struggling to continue their degrees. Protests were held on a number of campuses, including Jenderal Soedirman University (Unsoed) in Purwokerto, Sumatera Utara University (USU) in Medan, and Universitas Riau (Unri) in Riau.

However, after being summoned by President Joko Widodo, popularly known as ‘Jokowi’, Indonesia’s Minister of Education, Culture, Research and Technology Nadiem Anwar Makarim this week agreed to cancel the increase for 2024 to 2025 and assured the public that no students will be affected by this year’s hike in fees, known by their Indonesian acronym ‘UKT’ or single tuition fee.

The minister said that after meeting Jokowi at the presidential palace on 27 May he would also re-evaluate the increase in UKT at various state universities. “Even if there is an increase in UKT, it must be based on justice and reasonableness and that is what we will implement,” he said.

At Unri 48 students chose to drop out this year, unable to pay tuition fees that increased at the beginning of the year.

“Tuition fees increased two-fold since January, which means many of us are unable to continue our studies,” said Muhammad Rafi, president of the Unri student organisation during a 16 May hearing at Indonesia’s House of Representatives.

In Bandung, West Java, 206 students at Bandung Institute of Technology and 400 students at the State Islamic University (UIN) Bandung stopped attending classes after failing to pay tuition fees. However, they are still enrolled at their universities and are seeking dispensation from the higher fees.

“Students leaving their studies for failing to pay the UKT has become a regular occurrence during the last three years,” said Farhan Mubina, chairperson of the UIN Bandung Student Senate.

New regulation for fees this year

On 19 January this year Makarim issued a regulation for universities under his ministry’s administration to adjust UKT for new students based on the cost of a particular programme. Makarim said the regulation on the Standard Unit for Higher Education Operating Cost, a reference for calculating fees which are set by the universities themselves, also considered the need for technology in learning, had not been updated since 2019.

Almost all universities raised their fees from January. At public universities tuition fees currently vary between IDR13 million to IDR18 million (US$799, 24 to US$1106,64) per semester for a six-month period – nearly double the 2023 UKT. But there have been reports of increases of up to 500% for some programmes at Unsoed, rising from IDR2.5 million to IDR14 million per semester for the Animal Husbandry programme, for example.

On 16 May the All Indonesia Students Executive Alliance took the issue to the House of Representatives (DPR) which summoned the minister to a hearing on 21 May.

Makarim asserted that the new UKT rate for 2023 was only for new students. “There’s a lot of misunderstanding here. The new UKT rate is not effective for old (existing) students. And even new students can seek dispensation from their own universities. We have provided facilities for that,” Makarim told the House hearing.

The minister blamed social media ‘noise’ for the ‘misunderstanding’ but he maintained that a bigger cause for concern was that students preferred to raise this issue with the media instead of talking with their university officials.

Nonetheless he said: “We are committed to halting any unjustified spikes in tuition fees,” adding that the ministry was scrutinising and reassessing tuition fee hike policies at public institutions under the ministry’s administration.

Provisions for disadvantaged students

Economically disadvantaged students can receive a UKT reduction based on their family economic background, indicated, among other measures, by parents’ income. But the information has to be included in registration forms at the time of enrolment.

Several students said providing information on family circumstances made no difference. “I put on the registration form that my father is a palm oil farmer who earns a low income, but the university charged me the same tuition fee rate as others,” Unri student Siti Aisyah told University World News.

Iqbal Muntaha, a student at UIN Bandung, included in his registration form that his father repairs used electronic devices, but he still had to pay the same UKT as his friends from better economic backgrounds.

“Now I have left my classes to make money,” he told University World News showing the homemade traditional snacks called krapik Sinkong made from cassava that he sells at the rented street food stall near his campus. He is unsure if this will earn him around IDR18 million by the end of this semester so that he can pay his tuition fees. “At least I am trying,” he said.

Fee increase dispensations

Accompanying Makarim at the DPR hearing prior to the announced scrapping of the fee increase, Abdul Haris, director general at the ministry, informed the House Commission X – the parliamentary commission that oversees educational affairs – that his office had “resolved” the Unri problem. “Proposals from students for UKT dispensations have been approved,” Haris told the hearing.

He urged students and their parents to seek a solution with university officials. “We and the rectors would be willing to readjust UKT rates according to their family economic situation,” he added.

“We would not want students to be unable to pursue their studies because of an inability to pay UKT,” he said.

Ahmad Sarbini, director of the postgraduate programme at UIN Sunan Gunung Djati Bandung said the number of students facing problems with UKT payments did not represent the actual situation, suggesting they were only a minority. “Two to three hundred students cannot represent tens of thousands of students,” he told University World News.

While he was aware of a number of students at his university facing difficulties paying UKT, he said they could “seek dispensation, and we have never turned them down”.

This year, while other universities increased UKT rates, UIN SGD Bandung did not, he said, adding: “Please note, we always help students continue their studies despite their economic problems, not to exclude them.”