Universitas Indonesia in The Middle of Transition Polemic
Universitas Indonesia has a big dream, to be “the world class research university”. As a matter of fact, UI simultaneously strives to be one of the leading research universities and the most outstanding academic institution in the world. This prestigious dream undeniably looks dazzling and enticing, yet somehow behind this dream lays protracted problems.
The title doctor honoriscausa that bestowed upon the King of Saudi Arabia which lately exposed by the mass media is clearly not the main problem; in fact it’s just a trigger for UI’s civitas academica to prove that the disclosure of management inside UI itself has facing the serious problem.
If we try to unfold the problems then it won’t be stopped in the disclosure of management issue, there are also transparency of BOP-B (Biaya Operasional Pendidikan – Berkeadilan) issue, the finance transparency, the uncertainty of employee’s status issue, and the list goes on.
Hence, it arises the question, what are actually the roots of these problems? Could we fix it immediately in order to bring back the accountability and the integrity of the system? For some reasons, the transition period believed as one of the core problems.
The Transition Period
Since 2000, Universitas Indonesia had been transformed into the BHMN (State Owned Legal Entity) University along with the enactment of Presidential Regulation No.152 Year 2000. This status brought UI to be the legal entities that has a broader autonomy and capable to conduct the financial independently. Consequently, this independency of conducting the financial affairs, leads UI to the commercialization of education. The risings of tuition fee, the complicated BOP-B system that in fact is non-transparent, the various admission systems that requires large amount of money are strengthen this accusations. Meanwhile, as the other consequences of the BHMN status, the employees are no longer holding the PNS (Civil Servant) status. According to article 2 of Presidential Regulation No. 152 Year 2000, the employees will hold the Universitas Indonesia employees status.
However, after 9 years holding the BHMN status, in the year of 2009, Universitas Indonesia transformed into BHP (Educational Legal Entity) in accordance with Law Number 9 Year 2009. This controversial regulation finally annulled by Mahkamah Konstitusi in 2010, left 7 BHMN Universities in the uncertainty of their status.
To resolve this uncertainty, the precedential regulation No. 66 Year 2010 enacted. This regulation managed to clarify the transition period itself, which stipulated under the article number 220A that 7 BHMN Universities has three years of transition period along with the adjustment of the employees status.
What happened in other BHMN Universities?
ALSA as the largest law students organization in Asia has 12 Local Chapters in Indonesia, 2 of them are also the BHMN Universities, namely Universitas Gadjah Mada and Universitas Airlangga.
Since the year of 2000, Universitas Gadjah Mada has changed their status, from a State University to a State Owned Legal Entity University based on Presidential Regulation No. 153 Year 2000. As a result, their management also arranges system in order to generate the funds in more extensive way. Such as establishing the international program, initiating the diverse entrance tests, and so on. The raising of tuition fees have also become the serious issue back then, when the management decided to add the new component for tuition, which is SPMA (Sumbangan Peningkatan Mutu Akademik) in 2003. This component believed as a boundary for people who have economic constraints to pursue a higher education in this university.
Meanwhile, Universitas Airlangga have held their BHMN status since late 2006 after the enactment of Presidential Regulation No. 30 Year 2006. This status also brought up the similar consequences, the financial independency and the transparency issue. As Reka Bagus Wicaksono (student of Universitas Airlangga) explained “there were a protest from Student Executive Body of Universitas Airlangga, demand for the application of good corporate governance system, but that action didn’t come up with a great result because only few people who actually care about the issue itself.” As for the tuition, there is a new policy that agrees to raise the tuition for students who enters from SNM-PTN program. This additional charge has a range from 2,5 to 1,5 Million Rupiahs.
Facing the draft regulation
After all, just like two sides of a coin, the concept of BHMN itself actually has a strong design, to prioritize professionally managerial performance of a public university on the basis of efficiency, effectiveness, accountability and transparency principles. This quality of course fundamental for reaching the dream as the World Class Research University, but the major question is whether that dreams still relevant to be reasons for sacrificing the basic target of all, which is to give an access for people to fulfill the higher education without a “financial selection”.
Nevertheless, in the year of 2012, the transition period will be ended. This will be marked by the enactment Law of Universities, till now, there’s still no clarity about the future status of university, whether it will be back to the BHMN concept, or government decided to form a new legal entity concept for university. What we can do now as the biggest stakeholder in this university is to guard the transition period and keep contributing our ideas to a better education system, because giving up or simply being a passive student is no longer a choice for us.
