KPK Scrutinize Bribery Allegations over Student Admission

KOMPAS/SUSANA RITA KUMALASANTI

Investigators from the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) showed evidence in the form of cash, time deposits, and savings books during the arrest operation of the Chancellor of the University of Lampung Karomani and three other suspects at a press conference on Sunday (21/8/2022).

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) is still conducting an investigation related to the possibility of more suspects in the alleged illegal payment for student enrollment at the University of Lampung (Unila). Apart from the nationwide government-administered regular-admission system, universities are allowed to take new students in what is called self-managed admission (jalur mandiri). However, in the wake of the Unila bribery case, many consider it urgent to reevaluate it due to its vulnerability to irregularities.

KPK has named four suspects in the case, namely Karomani (university chancellor), Heryandi (deputy chancellor I), Muhammad Basir (head of university senate) and Andi Desfiandi (alleged bribe giver). Several other names alleged to be involved in the case are still being questioned as witnesses.

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> Improving the University’s Self-Managed Admissions Process

As reported before, Karomani was alleged to have taken payment for student admission with the sum above the allowed ceiling rate.

KPK investigators searched the university rector's room and deputy rector’s in Lampung on Monday (22/8/2022). They also dug up information from several campus staffers about the self-managed student admission run by the university called Simanila.

He used the word “child” to refer to a suspected culprit.

On a separate occasion, Karyoto, the KPK deputy for law enforcement and execution, said that the Unila bribery case might have suspects more than already named in the bust-up operation, locally referred as operasi tangkap tangan (OTT). He used the word “child” to refer to a suspected culprit. "OTT [may] have many children. This is the first child, and there may be the youngest child later," he said, alluding to the possibility of more suspects from those in structural board with Karomani.

KPK deputy chairman Alexander Marwata hoped that the Education, Culture, Research and Technology Ministry (Kemendikbudristek) and the university administrator would impose sanctions on the students who entered the enrollment illegally by bribing. He said the sanctions would serve as a deterrent against repeated cases at Unila or other universities.

Asked if similar cases might be rife at other universities, Alexander said KPK had not received such an allegation elsewhere. However, he did not rule it out completely with the presumption that the people involved in illegal transactions, if any, might have agreed to keep it secret between them.

KOMPAS/VINA OKTAVIA

Acting Chancellor of the University of Lampung M. Sofwan Effendi on Monday (22/8/2022) in Bandar Lampung. He replaces the Chancellor of Unila Karomani, who was arrested by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) for the alleged bribery case of admitting new students for the 2022 independent pathway.

"Hopefully, there isn’t. Or, it may be that everyone is equally happy and lucky. None is willing to tell about it," he said.

Technical guidelines

KPK has recommended an improvement in the self-managed student admission by identifying the loopholes in the management system. Based on its surveillance in 2021 regarding the practices of taking payment as financial contribution for university-development program, imposed on prospective

students in medical school in particular at several state universities, KPK found the weaknesses in aspects of transparency and accountability.

It attributes the weaknesses partly to the absence of technical guidelines from the Education and Culture Ministry. This results in the national student admission being too reliant on universities, which fail to provide transparency and accountability regarding information on intake quota, selection criteria and the demanded amount of financial donation.

"KPK reminds and recommends the ministry prepare technical guidelines that regulate the self-managed student admission by prioritizing the principles of transparency and accountability," KPK caretaker spokesperson Ipi Maryati said in a press release.

In its circular letter No. 07/2022 dated 29 March, 2022 concerning the management in university self-managed S-1 (strata 1) student admission sent to the chancellors of state universities throughout the country, KPK states, among other things, the importance of information on the number of admitted students and the adopted quantitative criteria. It also sees it as important for universities to be open in the selection method by explicitly stating the passing-grade limit and providing an electronic-based complaint channel for the public.

In the case that the government maintained it, he said, the mechanism should be implemented according to the standards as employed in the regular admission route.

Boyamin Saiman, coordinator of the Indonesian Anti-Corruption Society, had urged the ministry to abolish the university self-managed student-admission mechanism. In the case that the government maintained it, he said, the mechanism should be implemented according to the standards as employed in the regular admission route.

Self-managed student admission takes new students in various categories, namely the achievement path, leadership path, disabilities path, partnership path and remote-area path. It is left to each university’s policy, which are to be adopted. However, as education consultant and lecturer Ina Liem said, from the many selection paths, the universities seemed to fail to draw up transparency criteria from the onset.

Education-practitioner Darmaningtyas said that the arrest of the Unila chancellor was a momentum to evaluate the self-managed student-admission system. He said he would rather have it removed altogether.

Other than the self-managed student admission, the government administers two national-admission-selection schemes, which according to him, are more objectively reliable, with the tuition being paid flexibly based on household affordability.

Caretaker chancellor

Meanwhile, Minister Nadiem Anwar Makarim has appointed M. Sofwan Effendi, who is the ministry’s director for human resources, as acting chancellor of the University of Lampung effective as of Monday (22/8). Also taking up the role of the senate’s head, Sofwan is tasked to ensure that educational services at the university are not affected by the bribery case.

He said the university’s Simanila would be evaluated with a view to bringing back the student admission, either through regular or non-regular routes, in compliance with the regulations.

He said he had yet to decide the status of the new students related to the alleged bribery case. He added all newly admitted students at Unila underwent the learning activity as usual. (ANA/ELN/VIO)

(This article was translated by Musthofid)