Indonesia has cancelled plans to raise university fees for the academic year 2024-2025, following backlash from students, Tempo reported.

Minister of Education, Culture, Research and Technology, Nadiem Anwar Makarim, said that the decision was made after listening to the concerns of students, families, and members of the public.

Widespread demonstrations, protests

In recent weeks, university students across Indonesia held demonstrations to protest against the increase in single tuition fees, known as UKT.

The UKT is the amount of fees that must be paid by students each semester. The fees are usually set based on students' economic conditions, but each university can determine its own UKT.

The UKT is payable on top of a one-time registration fee students pay upon admission, as well as institutional development fees (IPI).

IPI are fees charged as a contribution to developing higher education.

According to Benar News, tuition fees at some state universities have increased by up to 500 per cent, with one university in Indonesia increasing its IPI from 25 million rupiah (S$2,000) last year to 200 million rupiah (s$16,750) this year.

Justification on increase in tuition

The increase in tuition fees was initially justified based on the Minister of Education's regulation on the Standard Unit for Higher Education Operating Cost (SSBOPT), a reference used by universities to determine the cost of tuition fees.

It was also argued that an adjustment to the cost of tuition is necessary, to keep up with the increasing need for learning technologies.

The Education Ministry attempted to raise the UKT fees upon claims that the SSBOPT has never been updated.

Nadiem clarified that the regulation increase applies only to new students, not current ones, and claimed that it only impacts students from more well-off economic backgrounds.

Prospective students withdrew applications

A number of prospective students withdrew their university applications upon news of the increase in UKT, Kompas reported.

One mother in Indonesia expressed concerns whether she could send her three children to higher education, Benar News reported.

She said that education is a pathway to break the chain of poverty, but the government doesn't seem to support citizens who are in the lower middle-income demographics.

Responding to the complaints, education ministry official Tjitjik Srie Tjahjandarie said:

“Higher education is tertiary education. So it's not mandatory to study.

This means that not all high school graduates, vocational school graduates are required to go to college."

Cancellation of UKT increase

On Monday (May 27), Nadiem, Indonesia's Minister of Education, Culture, Research and Technology, met with President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo.

Nadiem said that Jokowi has agreed to the cancellation of the increase in UKT and assured that no students will be affected by the UKT increase this year.

The minister said that he would also re-evaluate the increase in UKT at various state universities, CNN Indonesia reported.

Nadiem said that any future increases to UKT will be carried out carefully, based on "justice and reasonableness".

Top image via Herlambang Tinasih Gusti/Unsplash.