December 18, 2025 | 03:36 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Chairperson of House Commission X, Hetifah Sjaifudian, criticized the governance and competitive climate of universities in Indonesia. She mentioned that state universities in Indonesia are currently trapped in a paradox of quantity logic.
According to Hetifah, campus managers tend to focus on increasing the number of students and study programs rather than on quality and academic excellence.
"However, the growth in the number of students, study programs, and massive admissions is not always accompanied by an improvement in the quality of education and research," she stated through an official release on Thursday, December 18, 2025.
The Golkar Party legislator noted that over the past two decades, several state universities have grown rapidly and become larger. They have tens of thousands of students and produce thousands of graduates every year. The number of lecture halls increases each year.
However, Hetifah believes that quantitative growth has not been accompanied by an improvement in quality. Campus research and innovation have declined in quality and lag behind; the student-to-lecturer ratio has worsened, and the quality of learning has become increasingly unclear.
According to her, universities are beginning to experience a shift in values. "There is a tendency for universities to transition into mass education, printing as many degrees as possible, but not yet becoming centers of intellectual excellence and the development of knowledge."
She added that the unhealthy competition is further exacerbated by an unfair higher education funding system between state and private universities. This is mainly because state universities have greater financial freedom and support.
Therefore, she urged the government to rearrange the funding system so that the gap between state and private universities does not widen further. She also requested that future regulations reduce the financial burden on students and campuses, creating a balanced higher education ecosystem between state and private universities in terms of funding, governance, and strategic roles.
"Next year should be a momentum for improving the governance of higher education. Not merely pursuing numbers and quantity, but restoring campuses as centers of excellence, justice, and enlightenment for the nation," Hetifah said.
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