Not Only PTN, the Government is Asked to Provide BOPT to PTS

JAKARTA - The Chairman of Commission X of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Hetifah Sjaifudian, said that there had been a paradoxical phenomenon in a number of State Universities (PTN), where they were trapped in the logic of quantity rather than strengthening quality and academic excellence.

"The growth in the number of students, study programs, and massive admissions is not always accompanied by an increase in the quality of education and research," he said in a written statement, Sunday, December 21.

According to him, in the last two decades, a number of universities have competed to increase the number of students to tens of thousands per year. However, this often has an impact on declining quality, lagging research and innovation, deteriorating the ratio of lecturers to students, swelling the class size, and declining the quality of the learning process.

This condition not only weakens the academic tradition and the nation's competitiveness, but also has an impact on the higher education ecosystem as a whole. "There is a tendency for universities to shift to mass education, producing as many degrees as possible, but it is not optimal to become a center of intellectual excellence and the development of science," he continued.

The politician from the Golkar Party Faction stated that this condition also created unhealthy competition with Private Universities (PTS), because PTN, especially PTN Legal Entities (PTN-BH), have greater flexibility and budgetary support. Meanwhile, PTS has contributed significantly in expanding access to higher education, especially in rural areas, even without adequate state budget support.

"As a form of partisanship, Commission X of the DPR RI has consistently encouraged affirmative policies for PTS. PTS is an integral part of the national higher education ecosystem, but still faces serious inequalities in terms of funding, policies, and institutional sustainability," said Hetifah.

He revealed that one of the initiatives that continues to be fought for is the provision of Higher Education Operational Assistance (BOPT) for PTS, which until now has only been enjoyed by PTN through BOPTN. This policy is expected to ease the operational burden of private campuses as well as the cost of student education, with the principle of equal justice as the School Operational Assistance (BOS) at the primary and secondary education levels.

"BOPT for all PTs is an effort to ensure that PTS also receive state guarantees, so that access and sustainability of higher education are maintained," said Hetifah.