Indonesia Has 4,500 Universities but Only 20 Enter the World Ranking

TheIndonesia.id - Institutional Director of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology (Kemendikbudristek) Dr. Lukman said universities in Indonesia need endowment funds to become world-class. One analysis of why universities in Indonesia fail to be world-class universities is due to the budget.

“Indonesia has 4,500 universities, but only 20 campuses are included in the world rankings. Of the 20 campuses, only five are included in the top 500," Lukman said in a discussion quoted by Antara in Jakarta, Thursday, July 28, 2022.

After conducting an investigation, he continued, it turns out that the cost of education in Indonesia is lower than in other countries, which is only IDR 28 million or US$2,000 per year. While other countries are far above this figure.

The university's endowment fund will help campuses to be more flexible in improving the quality of their learning. For the initial stage, the pioneer in the college endowment program is state universities with a legal entity or PTN BH. “This is because PTN BH is more flexible in managing finances. PTN BH is given the freedom of autonomy in budget management, HR recruitment, and others," he said.

Lukman hopes that the university's endowment fund can be a trigger and spur Indonesian universities to become world-class campuses. These funds can be used for international collaborations such as student exchanges and activities that support universities to become world-class.