Jakarta – The Ministry of Education and Culture (Kemendikbud) launched Merdeka Belajar Episode Six, namely “Transformation of Government Funds for Higher Education” which was inaugurated by the President of the Republic of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, virtually (3/11). This policy was launched in order to support President Joko Widodo’s vision of realizing superior Human Resources (HR), one of which is through the transformation of higher education to be able to produce more talents who are able to compete at the world level. In his speech the President said that this pandemic must be used to improve the national education ecosystem, including higher education. “Higher education institutions must transform more dynamically and create breakthroughs and build a competitive climate to increase competitiveness. Synergize and collaborate with BUMN and industry, to encourage better performance, “the President ordered.

Mendikbud, Mr. Nadiem explained about Three Breakthroughs of Merdeka Belajar Episode Six

The Minister of Education and Culture (Mendikbud), Nadiem Anwar Makarim, said that both public and private universities in Indonesia must move faster in order to compete at the world level. “On the side of improving quality, we have to create better graduates. On the funding side per student, Indonesia is still relatively low compared to other countries. So, The Ministry of Education and Culture increases the budget in the context of performance, to achieve the quality we want. Government funds for higher education are at Rp. 2.9 trillion in 2020 and will be increased by 70% in 2021 to Rp. 4.95 trillion, “said the Minister of Education and Culture.

8 Main Performance Indicators (IKU)

He explained that Merdeka Belajar Episode Six includes three breakthroughs which are expected to improve the quality of Indonesian higher education. The first policy is performance incentives provided for PTN, based on the achievement of eight Main Performance Indicators (IKU). The second policy is a matching fund, namely funding support from partners who have been selected by higher education institutions, which will be equalized to the amount given by the Ministry of Education and Culture with a ratio of 1: 1 or up to 1: 3 for funding related to social issues and national priorities. . The third policy is the Merdeka Campus competition program or competitive fund. Examples of programs that can receive competitive funds include a one-semester internship program in the world’s top companies with professional mentors.

The Sixth Episode Merdeka Learning Program also receives support from universities, students and industry. The virtual launch was also attended by Reini Wirahadikusumah (Rector of the Bandung Institute of Technology), Mochamad Ashari (Rector of the Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology), Khoirul Anwar (Telkom University Lecturer), Salman Subakat (CEO of PT. Paragon Technology and Innovation) and Henry Timothy (Airlangga University students).