President Boyong 10 British Universities to Indonesia, Commission X DPR Wanti-wanti about Regulation

Greenwich, London, England/UNSPLASH ILLUSTRATION/Max Patel

Member of Commission X of the House of Representatives, Muhammad Hilman Mufidi, appreciates President Prabowo Subianto's plan to bring 10 universities from the UK to open campuses in Indonesia with the spirit of wanting to improve the quality of national education.

However, Hilman warned that there must be clear, strong and fair regulations in the implementation of the plan.

Hilman also reminded that the presence of foreign universities should not be a deadly competitor for domestic campuses, especially private universities (PTS).

"In principle, the President's intention is certainly very good, namely to improve the quality and competitiveness of education in Indonesia," Hilman told reporters, Monday, February 2.

"However, regulations must be prepared thoroughly. Do not let foreign campuses exist without clear rules, then take the niche of students who have been the lifeblood of national universities, especially PTS," he continued.

Hilman revealed that currently many private universities are in a difficult condition. He said, not a few PTS are struggling hard to get new students in the midst of increasingly fierce competition.

"We have to be honest about the conditions on the ground. Many private universities are desperately looking for students, even having difficulty meeting quotas," he said.

According to Hilman, one of the factors that aggravate the condition of PTS is the policy of state universities (PTN) which opens campuses in various regions and sets a large number of student admission quotas.

"PTN opens campuses in areas with very large quotas. As a result, many prospective students are sucked into state campuses, and this has a direct impact on the sustainability of private campuses," he explained.

Therefore, the PKB legislator asked the government to ensure that the policy of bringing foreign campuses was truly complementary, not destructively competitive.

"Don't let the good intentions to advance education actually create new inequalities and sacrifice national universities which have also contributed greatly to national education," concluded Hilman.

Previously, President Prabowo Subianto invited leading British universities to cooperate in the establishment of 10 new universities in Indonesia.

The invitation was made by Prabowo at the UK-Indonesia Education Roundtable forum held at Lancaster House, London, on Tuesday, January 20.

"We want to invite cooperation later, they have already cooperated with UI, Gajah Mada, with many universities. They also have a campus in us, there is in Singosari, there is in Bandung, in the fields we need, the digital field, the technology field. So we want to accelerate, we want to pursue, we must have the highest level of education, equal to the best in the world," said President Prabowo in his statement.