A friend told me recently that her brother got into one of the most prestigious public university in Indonesia. He got in through the exam administered by the university on the first phase of the admission.
What is of interest to me is the several phases how one could get into this public university, and the respective entrance fee:
1. To go through the entrance exam administered by the university, with entrance fee of Rp.15 million (around USD 1500).
2. To go through the entrance exam administered by the ministry of education - which is a lot more competitive, with entrance fee between Rp.7-8 million (USD 700-800).
3. If you failed number 1 and 2, then you can go through the second phase of exam administered by the university, with entrance fee of Rp.45 million (USD 4500).
Chances are, those who get in through option 3 are those who fail the option 1 and 2. Or in other words, they are not as smart as those who got in through option 1 and 2.
Those who are among the smartest of the group are rewarded by paying the least of the entrance fee. Chances are, these students have had series of quality elementary and secondary education - which often comes with higher tuition fee here in Indonesia.
With privatization of public universities in Indonesia, the latter are left with finding ways to get funds, one of the ways is to resort to charging higher fees. What will become of those who are not as smart and happen to come from less well-off families?
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2 comments:
Nice post, Dewi.
It's a vicious cycle, isn't it? When you're poor, you can't get quality education. And when you don't have education, you become poor.
But an interesting question would be: is higher education (universities) for everyone? Some think a good vocational education is a better fit for some people.
Nope, I don't think formal education is for everyone. It's always good to have options :)
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