Indonesia's New URI University Won't Absorb All Campuses; Education Ministry's Role Unchanged

The Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology (Kemendikti Saintek) has clarified that its functions will not change following the establishment of the new institution, the University of the Republic of Indonesia (URI). Brian Yuliarto, the ministry's official for Science and Technology, stated that URI will not be responsible for overseeing all campuses across Indonesia, a role that remains with Kemendikti Saintek. "No, our functions will not change," Brian said at the Presidential Palace Complex in Jakarta on Thursday (23/7). He emphasized, "It doesn't mean URI will oversee all campuses; it's not like that." Brian explained that the core purpose of URI is to serve as an affirmative action program to prepare human resources for strategic positions. These strategic roles could include tasks in underdeveloped regions (3T areas) or contributions to national priority programs. Furthermore, Brian assured that URI's budget would not interfere with Kemendikti Saintek's existing budget. The University of the Republic of Indonesia was recently established, with Prabowo appointing Donny Ermawan as Governor and Yos Sunitiyoso as Deputy Governor. Separately, Minister of State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi stated that the University of the Republic of Indonesia was prepared to cultivate future national leaders by adopting educational models from leadership institutions in several countries. "We have been preparing this for a long time, but the timing wasn't right. I will explain the details later. So, it's like learning from countries that have institutions specifically for preparing potential leaders," Pras said. He noted that government officials, state-owned enterprise executives, and regional heads generally have attended education at such institutions. "All government officials, all state-owned enterprise officials, even governors and regents, must enter or have attended education at such an institution," he said. Through a similar model, the government hopes that future leaders in Indonesia will possess both technical capabilities and strong national insight.