Indonesia rules out tuition fee rises after student protests

Indonesia’s newly appointed higher education minister has ruled out tuition fee increases following student protests over government spending cuts. 

Brian Yuliarto, who was appointed minister of higher education, science, and technology in a Cabinet reshuffle in February, has confirmed tuition fees will remain the same at Indonesia’s state universities after meeting with rectors. 

In Indonesia, tuition fees are set by the government and are means-tested, so poorer students pay less. Last year, the former government rowed back on plans to increase so-called single fees after an outcry from students. 

It follows a tense month for Indonesia’s leadership after thousands of students staged protests in cities including Yogyakarta, Jakarta and Medan in response to president Prabowo Subianto’s budget cuts. 

Prabowo, who was elected in October 2024, ran on the promise of making free school meals universally available across the archipelago, with a plan to reach 83 million children in total and address widespread malnutrition. 

However, the policy is expected to cost $28 billion (£22 billion) over the next four years, meaning Prabowo’s government has been forced to make cuts in other areas, including education and health. 

According to national press, the student protestors were concerned about the impact of the cuts on wider public services, as well as specific implications for higher education funding and scholarships, with some worried tuition fee rises could come next. 

Now the higher education minister appears to be attempting to appease students by promising there will be no fee increases. 

“We must avoid any miscommunication. This is crucial to prevent unnecessary concerns among students,” he said. 

The British Council has warned that the Indonesia International Student Mobility Award – a scholarship that supports Indonesian students to study abroad for one semester – is being reviewed. 

If cut, the number of Indonesian students enrolling in British institutions may “decline quite substantially” in the 2025-26 academic year, the organisation said in an update on its website. 

Yuliarto, formerly a dean at the Bandung Institute of Technology, replaced Satryo Soemantri Brodjonegoro in February in a cabinet reshuffle. 

Satryo, who was the president of the Indonesian Academy of Sciences before entering the government, served for four months, during which time he was accused of mistreating civil servants in his ministry, including cases of unfair dismissal. Satryo denied the claims and later told reporters that he had “decided to resign rather than be dismissed”.

helen.packer@timeshighereducation.com