Education Ministry Replaces UI Rector, Indonesia

After a controversial term, the University of Indonesia’s rector has been replaced temporarily by an official from the Education and Culture Ministry, as students angry over his leadership decisions called for him to resign.

Gumilar Somantri was formally replaced by Djoko Santoso, the ministry’s director general of higher education, during a ceremony at the ministry on Tuesday.

Mohammad Nuh, the education and culture minister, said Djoko was appointed to the position partly due to his prior academic success at the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB).

“The appointment of UI’s acting rector should be painstakingly done and should respect the university,” Nuh said. “He [Djoko] is not just ordinary official.”

Djoko graduated from ITB in 1976 with a degree in geology technique. He studied at the International Institute of Seismology and Earthquake Engineering in Japan and earned a master’s degree from the Asian Institute of Technology in Bangkok before returning to earn a doctorate at ITB in 1990.

His term as acting UI rector will likely be short, as Nuh said he expected the university would elect a new rector by October.

The former rector, Gumilar, left the post after a term marred by conflict with UI students and lecturers, who have criticized him for controversies ranging from sharp increases in tuition fees to the illegal sale of university properties and allegations of corruption.

He came under wide criticism in September last year when he awarded a doctorate to Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah, not long after a string of horrific abuse cases against Indonesian domestic workers in the kingdom came to light.

In December, Gumilar scuffled with the university’s board of trustees (MWA) after saying they had no authority over him because a new government regulation made him solely accountable to the education and culture minister.

Tension reached a peak earlier this month when Gumilar fired eight deans and the head of UI’s postgraduate programs. The MWA overturned the dismissal, saying the deans should remain in charge until new ones were elected, while the House of Representatives has asked Gumilar to explain his decision at a hearing next month.

The UI Student Executive Body (BEM UI) said it would stage a rally at the Education and Culture Ministry demanding that Gumilar resign from his post, rather than stepping down simply because his term is over.

“Students believe Gumilar should resign because he showed poor leadership as UI’s rector,” said Faldo Maldini, the head of BEM UI.

He added that the students had sealed off the UI rector’s office as part of their protest.

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