Unila Student Admission Bribery Smells Education World, KPK: People Want To Pay For Schools, What About Others?

Deputy for Enforcement and Execution Karyoto/PHOTO: Wardhany Tsa Tsia-VOI

JAKARTA - The Deputy for Enforcement and Execution of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) Karyoto said that the alleged bribery of accepting new students at the University of Lampung (Unila) was an injury to the world of education. He emphasized that this bribery practice would be developed.

"We will develop this. (Because, ed) this is very detrimental to the world of education," Karyoto said at a press conference at the KPK's Red and White Building, Kuningan Persada, South Jakarta, Thursday, August 25.

"People who want to go to school have to pay, what about the others," he continued.

Karyoto hopes that the bribery practice of accepting new students at Unila can be a slap in the face for the Ministry of Education and Culture. That way, in the future, they can improve considering that this kind of bribery practice is suspected to often occur.

"Hopefully Kemendikbudristek also really feels this as a very hurtful blow. So, internally they will try to make a recruitment system that can be clean," he said.

Previously reported, the KPK named four suspects for alleged bribery of accepting new students at the University of Lampung in 2022. The determination of these suspects began with arrest operations carried out in Lampung, Bandung and Bali.

The suspects involved in this case are the Chancellor of the University of Lampung 2020-2024 Karomani; Vice Chancellor I for Academic Affairs, University of Lampung Heryandi; Chairman of the Senate of the University of Lampung Muhammad Basri; and private Andi Desfiandi.

In this case, Karomani allegedly set the price for prospective new students at his campus in the range of Rp. 100 million to Rp. 350 million when carrying out the Independent Selection for Entrance to the University of Lampung (Simanila). This request was made after Heryandi and Muhammad Basri personally selected the student's parents' ability to pay.

One of the families of the prospective Simanila participants, Andi, then took the initiative to pay after his family was accepted as a student because of Karomani's assistance. He then handed over Rp150 million in cash in Lampung which was taken by a lecturer, namely Mualimin.

From his actions, Karomani allegedly managed to collect Rp603 million from Mualimin which was then used for personal purposes amounting to Rp575 million.

Meanwhile, from Muhammad Basri and Budi Sutomo who are Head of the Planning and Public Relations Bureau at the University of Lampung, it is suspected that the total money received by Karomani reached Rp. 4.4 billion. This money is then transferred to savings deposits, gold bars, and some are still in cash.