The Ministry Of Education And Technology Ensures Students Are Late In Paying UKT Because They Are Affected By Disasters Will Not Be 'Drop Out'

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology (Kemendiktisaintek) ensures that students from disaster-affected areas who are late in paying single tuition fees (UKT) will not be subject to dropouts or DOs.

This was conveyed by the Deputy Minister of Education and Technology, Fauzan in a meeting with Commission X of the DPR at the DPR building, Senayan, Jakarta, Monday, December 8.

Initially, the Deputy Commission X of the DPR from the PDIP faction, MY Esti Wijayati, hoped that there would be an academic dispensation for students from areas affected by floods and landslides in Aceh-Sumatra. He also asked the Ministry of Education and Technology to ascertain what academic dispensations were obtained by disaster victims.

"While stopping first is about DO, because they cannot complete the thesis on time. We can describe that they are in a situation that is not psychologically ill-posed, they may also hinder them," said Esti.

"It also needs further investigation. But at least we are struggling to provide comfort to our children," continued the PDIP legislator from the DIY electoral district.

Responding to Esti, Deputy Minister Fauzan said the Ministry of Education and Technology ordered universities not to do DO to disaster victims if they were late in paying UKT.

"Things like this and this, in my opinion, are very of our concern. And we agree that no children will do it because they can't pay," said Fauzan.

Fauzan hopes that universities can provide dryness to students from disaster-affected areas related to the financing of their studies.

"Disasters like this in Indonesia often, and then the responses from various universities vary, of course the spirit is to provide convenience or relief for affected students," said Fauzan.

"It has also been mentioned, I think it will only be an example, for example, such as UPI, then Unesa, and we hope that it will also be a positive tradition for universities in Indonesia," he continued.

Even so, Fauzan has not been able to ensure academic relief includes exemption from UKT fees. Because according to him, there needs to be a study on fee exemptions or free of charge.

"We hope that there will be an exemption from universities, but it's also not like that, right, there must be a study first," said Fauzan.