UNAIR NEWS – Observing the development of Covid-19 pandemic escalation in Indonesia which could not be predicted when to end, the Indonesian State University Rector Council (MRPTNI) held an online discussion to talk about the direct impact of the pandemic to learning process in universities.
The discussion was chaired by the Chairperson of MRPTNI Prof. Dr. Jamal Wiwoho, SH, who is also the Rector of Sebelas Maret University on Tuesday, May 5, 2020. In his presentation, he said that the leaders of universities felt very concerned and empathized, and opened themselves up in helping to overcome the problems faced by students and their families.
He also said that they were greatly affected economically, making it difficult to pay Single Tuition Fee (UKT), through policies as stipulated in Article (6) of Dikti Permen No. 39/2017, about changes in UKT.
“For this reason, the policies in the form of; temporary exemption, reduction, cluster shifts, installed payment, and postponement of UKT payments to be implemented through a request for amendment by including basic data on changes of student economic capacity, “he said.
Prof. Jamal Wiwoho also emphasized that the impact of Pandemic Covid-19, not only felt by students, but also to other academicians including lecturers and administrative staff, and even to the management of higher education in general. So the policy on UKT as mentioned above, is fully submitted to the leadership of higher education.
“That way, it is expected not to interfere with the implementation of the learning process in higher education with a variety of supporting activities,” he continued.
Furthermore, he also responded to the policy of Large-Scale Social Distancing (PSBB) implemented by the government in various regions. According to him, it has resulted in a large number of students from other regions to remain in their respective dormitories and boarding houses, and need logistical assistance to survive.
“For this reason, all university leaders are instructed to carry out intensive monitoring to ensure their safety and fulfill their food and social needs while staying in their respective places,” he explained.
The discussion which was also attended by Universitas Airlangga Rector Prof. Moh. Nasih who is also the Chairperson of LTMPT 2020 Implementation Team. On that occasion, Prof. Nasih also reviewed the UTBK policy in 2020.
According to him, the planned implementation of the UTBK-SBMPTN 2020 will continue to be carried out; UTBK-SBMPTN registration on 02-20 June 2020; UTBK implementation on July 12-12, 2020; and SBMPTN Announcement on July 25, 2020. Certainly, he continued, the implementation will be carried out with Covid-19 protocol as it should be, and still pay attention to the latest developments in the Covid-19 Pandemic escalation.
“The schedule is still tentative. This means that the schedule can change any time if the pandemic conditions in Indonesia have not yet shown a decline or better conditions, “he concluded.
Author: Nuri Hermawan
