After The UNS Menwa Was Frozen By Minister Nadiem, The Chancellor Of Itera Rejected The Allegation Of Campus Politization

JAKARTA - The Chancellor of the Sumatra Institute of Technology (Itera) I Nyoman Pugeg Aryantha rejected accusations that campuses had politicized and commercialized higher education.

"The suspicion of the campus to politicize and commercialize through the position of a rector is completely baseless," said Nyoman Pugeg Aryantha, in his statement, Monday, April 10, which was confiscated by Antara.

According to him, this unilateral accusation needs to be straightened out so that public trust is not eroded, so that people withdraw from participating in building quality Indonesian higher education.

A unilateral accusation occurred after the election of the Chancellor of Sebelas Maret University (UNS) Solo, which was later highlighted because the Chancellor was elected for the 2023-2028 period, namely Prof Sajidan, was annulled by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology, thus making several mass media lower news, to opinions about the selection of the UNS Chancellor.

"I really appreciate the provisions made by the Ministry of Education and Culture, Research and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia. However, for this incident, I also reject the opinion built in the community that state universities in Indonesia have been politicized and tend to commercialize the position of a rector," he also said.

As is the opinion in one of the national magazines, published on Sunday 9 April, where in the piece of opinion, it was conveyed, the commercialization of state universities also made the election of rectors often chaotic.

Moreover, the opinion states, after the state campus was allowed to raise funds outside the state budget, the rector's position became increasingly lucrative, in addition to promising 'wah' salaries and facilities, the Chancellor's position could be an opportunity to get closer to various sources of funds.

The Chancellor can become a node in buying and selling new student seats in the favorite department through independent channels. The Chancellor can also be the key in buying and selling doctorates or professors. So the temptation to justify any means in the election of the chancellor is getting bigger.

"I openly protest strongly against this opinion, because it can further undermine the trust currently being built by 125 state universities, and more than 2,982 private universities in Indonesia (Indonesian statistical data sources), amid the issue of university corruption in accepting new students," he also said.

He revealed that the rector's position was not as brilliant as it was conveyed. This is because the public also needs to know that the status of universities in Indonesia is not the same.

"There are state universities with work unit status (satker), Public Service Agency (BLU), and Legal Entity (BH). The PTN category also refers to the financial capacity of a campus," he said.

He said that in Itera, which is domiciled in Lampung Province, and notabene has the status of a work unit, the Chancellor's seat is not as qualified as the public might imagine, let alone promise a salary and 'wah' facility such as the opinion built.

"To note, in PTN satkers such as Itera, Rector officials only receive office allowances of around Rp. 5 million per month. Not only that, the rector also does not occupy official residences, which may be considered part of luxury facilities," he also said.

Being the Chancellor of Itera, he said, means being willing to live with lecturers or other education personnel, in a guesthouse room built on campus.

"Regarding other accusations that I strongly reject, the rector of PTN is considered to be a node in buying and selling new student seats majoring in favorites through independent channels. Rest assured, if there is a Chancellor who may have stumbled on the case, it is an anomaly, and that does not mean that all rectors carry out the same practice," he said.

Prof Nyoman Pugeg Aryantha stated that not a few rectors have integrity who still maintain their mandate with great care in providing higher education, especially the selection of new student admissions.

"This caution is to maintain the rights of every young candidate so as not to be taken away due to trivial behavior. I also believe that the participation of the community, to various government monitoring organizations such as the Ombudsman, the KPK, and others will still faithfully oversee every new student admission process so that it is transparent, honest, and fair," he said again.

According to him, the opinion in the magazine, which seems to generalize politicization and commercialization, thrives in every campus in Indonesia through the position of a rector, can undermine the spirit of universities such as Itera which are still crawling and growing to become a qibla for the development of civilization.

As a technology institute built to prepare Indonesia's golden generation, Itera was committed from the start to build a higher education system with integrity, professionalism, and prioritizing accountability.

"So it's time for us to fight together to build a joint movement, support improving the quality of higher education in Indonesia," he said.