JAKARTA - The Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology (Kemdiktisaintek) clarified that the information that there were around 60 thousand students who were accepted but did not re-register did not reflect the actual condition.
In an official statement in Jakarta, Friday, the Minister of Higher Education, Science, and Technology (Mendiktisaintek) Brian Yuliarto explained that the data that became the public's concern was the result of the evaluation of the 2025 new student admission, not 2026. The 2026 National Selection of New Student Admission (SNPMB) process is currently ongoing and has not been completed.
Based on official data from the SNPMB Committee, the figure of around 60 thousand circulating in the public space is the accumulation of these two components, namely 42,315 seats that are not filled and 17,816 participants who were accepted but did not re-register.
The first component relates to the capacity of universities. In 2025, the total capacity provided through the SNBP, SNBT, and Independent Selection pathways reached 627,957 seats. Of this number, 585,642 participants were declared accepted, leaving 42,315 seats (6.7 percent) unfilled.
This condition occurs because the number of participants who meet the academic standards set by the university is still below the number of available seats.
"Colleges continue to apply quality standards in the selection process so that seats that have not met the qualifications are not filled solely to meet the target capacity. This policy is a form of commitment in maintaining the quality of higher education so that graduates produced have competencies that match the needs of society, the workforce, and industry," said Minister Brian.
The second component is participants who have been accepted but have not re-registered. Of the total 585,642 participants accepted in 2025, 567,826 participants or 97.2 percent have re-registered and continued the process of becoming new students. Meanwhile, 17,816 participants or about 2.8 percent decided not to re-register.
Based on the analysis of the SNPMB Committee, there are several factors that affect this condition, including participants accepted in study programs that are not their main choice so they choose to follow other selection routes, participants who are accepted in service colleges or other ministerial/institutional colleges, as well as various personal and family considerations.
In addition, there are also participants who apply as prospective recipients of the Kuliah Smart Indonesian Card (KIP), but based on the results of the verification, they are not yet eligible or have received a partial assistance scheme so that they still need support for living expenses from their families during their studies.
"Kemdiktisaintek emphasizes that the KIP Kuliah verification process is carried out to maintain the principle of accuracy of the target so that government assistance is given to prospective students who really come from the most needy families," said Brian.
The Minister of Education and Technology explained that most of the figures were capacity that had not been filled since the beginning because universities maintained academic quality standards, while participants who did not re-register only numbered 17,816 people or 2.8 percent.
On the other hand, 97.2 percent of participants who have been declared accepted actually re-registered and continued their higher education, which shows that the majority of prospective students who have the opportunity to enter college make good use of the opportunity.
"Higher education must be accessible to more and more Indonesian sons and daughters, but at the same time academic quality must also be maintained. Therefore, we continue to strengthen various affirmative schemes, educational assistance, a fair UKT system, and the improvement of the student admission system to be more inclusive, targeted, and able to meet the needs of national development," said Brian Yuliarto.
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