Graft scandals expose flaws in Indonesia university admissions

JAKARTA — Indonesia's university admission system is facing renewed scrutiny following the arrest of senior officials at a state university, with experts warning that weak oversight and broad institutional discretion could allow wealthy applicants to buy their way into coveted academic programs.

Following a recent graft bust involving admissions at Central Java's Jenderal Soedirman University, or Unsoed, the Corruption Eradication Commission, or KPK, warned that similar practices could be occurring at other universities.

"We suspect that attempts to manipulate the student admissions process are prevalent … also at other universities," KPK spokesperson Budi Prasetyo told The Jakarta Post.

While stopping short of naming the campuses, Budi urged people with information about suspected admissions graft at their universities to report it to the anti-graft body so that it could investigate.

"We can certainly step in once we receive a report of suspected corruption, which we will then review and analyze to determine the appropriate follow-up," he said.

The warning came as the KPK continued its investigation into Unsoed officials, following an Aug 20 sting operation that resulted in six suspects being named, including rector Akhmad Sodiq and vice-rector Norman Arie Prayogo.

The KPK alleged that the suspects solicited payments from parents seeking places through Unsoed's independent admission track in 2025 and 2026, including at the faculties of medicine, law, and fisheries and marine sciences.

The agency seized Rp 665 million ($37,721) in cash and Rp 99 million in bank deposits during the sting operation.

Unlike national admission routes, the independent track is administered by individual universities, which set their own selection criteria, including university-run examinations, high school records and academic or extracurricular achievements.

Admissions graft cases at universities date back years, but the issue drew nationwide attention in 2022 when the KPK arrested Karomani, then-rector of Lampung University, or Unila.

Karomani was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2023 for accepting payments to admit students through Unila's independent admission track.

Applicants reportedly paid between Rp 100 million and Rp 350 million, while the KPK estimated that Karomani collected around Rp 5 billion.

The Unila case prompted the KPK to issue a circular urging higher education institutions to strengthen integrity and transparency in their independent admissions.

Lack of transparency

Experts have since described the scandals as evidence of a systemic problem within the independent admission track, where universities retain considerable discretion over admissions.

"Corruption in student admissions only began occurring (prevalently) after the independent track was introduced, since the money involved is substantial," said Darmaningtyas, an education expert and member of the Taman Siswa educational movement.

The government formally regulated differing admission schemes among universities in 2010, requiring state universities to fill at least 60 percent of their places through national selection and allowing up to 40 percent through independent admissions.

The system has been further complicated by a lack of transparency, Darmaningtyas said, as university leaders often have considerable authority to determine contributions required from prospective students under the independent track.

"When such an admission graft happens, it goes to show that others in the faculties were unaware of how the funds are being managed by the university leadership," he added.

Fikri Muslim, an education researcher at the National Research and Innovation Agency, echoed the assessment, warning against reducing the problem to a handful of corrupt individuals.

"We can no longer simplify corruption as merely a case of individuals acting improperly," Fikri said, noting that universities' broad discretion over admission for highly sought-after programs compounded the problem.

"There is a market and particularly high demand for programs like medicine," Fikri said. "The weak transparency in this admission has become part of a bigger issue of the commercialization of higher education."

THE JAKARTA POST, INDONESIA