One More Reason Tuition Fees Have To Fall During The Pandemic, This Time It's A Graduate Student Who Screams

Rectorate Building, University of Indonesia (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

JAKARTA - The urge to reduce tuition fees during the pandemic has returned to the fore. This time the encouragement was from the University of Indonesia (UI) Postgraduate Student Alliance which demanded the reduction of Educational Operational Costs (BOP) during the COVID-19 pandemic. A plausible impetus that the government must meet immediately. In addition to causing health emergencies, pandemics also have an impact on economic decline.

As we have discussed in "Tuition Fees During the Corona Pagebluk". The pandemic has disrupted economic stability in student education. Even for those students of the UI Postgraduate program. Apart from reducing income, the Distance Learning (PJJ) method which forces students to use private facilities increases the cost of living.

Under these conditions, the UI Postgraduate Student Alliance in a statement received by VOI regretted that students were still required to pay for tuition without receiving official assistance from the university. At least S2 UI students have to pay around 13-20 million rupiah per semester.

Even though not all postgraduate students come from the upper economic class or receive scholarships. Aloysius, for example. UI Postgraduate student who is one of the victims of the economic crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He, who is an employee at a start-up company in the property sector, admits that since the pandemic, his company has been forced to eliminate its basic salary.

"Murni only relies on income from sales commissions of around 15-20 percent of the basic salary," Aloy said when contacted by VOI. "That's why it's quite hard," he said.

Plus, since the implementation of PJJ or studying at home, Aloysius' expenses for college can increase up to 1 million per month for internet and electricity. "Therefore, it is quite difficult because on the one hand the income decreases, but on the other hand, the expenditure for college actually increases. Moreover, the quality of learning is reduced because the focus of learning is different in class and at home," he complained.

Demand a reduction in tuition fees

Therefore, the UI Postgraduate Student Alliance demands that the UI Rector and the Ministry of Education and Culture of the Republic of Indonesia reduce tuition fees while studying at home thoroughly and without conditions. In addition, they also demanded that the campus return the odd semester 2020/2021 tuition fees for students who have paid in full.

Another demand is the elimination of BOP for final year students because they are no longer studying; preparation of regulations regarding BOP relief in the shortest possible time; as well as transparency of the use of BOP in each semester.

Meanwhile Acting Director (Plt.) Director General of Higher Education Kemendikbud Nizam acknowledged Permendikbud No. 25 of 2020 about adjusting tuition fees during a pandemic only applies to D4 and S1 students. However, according to him, there are still opportunities for postgraduate and doctoral students to ask for relief.

"In general, you can use the basis of Permendikbud 25/2020 too," said Nizam, quoted by CNN Indonesia. For details, the scheme is regulated by each college. "Friends at PT generally already have schemes to solve student problems," he said.