Top Indonesian university postpones minister’s doctoral degree after controversy over short duration of studies

JAKARTA: A top-ranking local university in Indonesia has announced the postponing of the conferment of a doctoral degree to a minister less than a month after confirming that he had fulfilled all administrative and academic requirements to graduate.

The University of Indonesia (UI) also issued a public apology and said that it would temporarily halt admission of new students to the doctoral programme under the School of Strategic and Global Studies pending a “comprehensive audit” of the programme’s governance and academic processes. 

The postponement of the doctoral degree for Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia was made following a “coordination meeting”. 

“Ul admits that this problem, among other things, stems from UI’s own shortcomings, and is taking steps to overcome it both from an academic and ethical view,” the head of UI’s board of trustees Dr Yahya Cholil Staquf said in a press release on Tuesday (Nov 12), following an in-depth evaluation of the programme Mr Bahlil was enrolled in as part of efforts to maintain its academic quality and integrity.

Mr Bahlil was reported to have fulfilled the requirements needed to graduate from his research programme at UI’s School of Strategic and Global Studies last month. 

Controversy then swirled after it was reported that the minister had completed the programme in one year and eight months instead of the usual three or four years for most candidates at the prestigious university in Indonesia. 

The university had been ranked first in the country according to the QS World University Rankings 2024. 

Local media had reported that speculation was rife that Mr Bahlil had allegedly used “joki” services for his academic papers, referring to the act of paying someone to complete the academic assignments on behalf of others. 

Speaking to the media on Thursday, Mr Bahlil – who is also the chair of the Golkar party – said he regards the postponement of his doctoral degree as an administrative lapse, as he is still waiting for his official graduation ceremony to be held and his dissertation to be revised.

“What I understand is that (my doctoral degree) is not exactly postponed; rather, my graduation is scheduled for December and I will only be considered to have passed the programme after that,” the minister was quoted as saying by local news outlet Kompas.

“Although I have completed my dissertation, it still needs to be revised and (my doctoral degree) will only be considered complete once those revisions are made.”

He added that he has yet to check in detail the letter that was sent to him from the university.

“Just ask UI for more details,” he told the media.

Meanwhile, Indonesian netizens have welcomed the move made by UI, claiming that it was likely a response to the mounting public pressure.  

“It’s a big move, aiming to restore academic integrity but also a reminder of the cracks in the system,” says a local non-mainstream media platform @nuicemedia on X, with the post receiving over 3,400 reposts and 7,000 likes. 

“Good job University of Indonesia for maintaining the reputation of a prestigious institution,” X user @narkosun posted. 

“If a leading institution loses its integrity, the pursuit of truth becomes biased and unreliable. Academic integrity protects knowledge from personal interests and ensures that education stays true to its ideals. Thank you, UI for reaffirming this principle,” an Instagram user @habibsyadzily commented, in response to a post by local media Kumparan.

“If the issue had not gone viral, would there still be a postponement?” a netizen @dr.muslimkasim commented on the same post. 

A group of UI alumni had started a petition on Oct 17 on change.org – the world’s largest petition platform – demanding the formation of an independent team to launch a full investigation into the alleged commercialisation of Mr Bahlil’s degree. 

The petition demanded the university to revoke Mr Bahlil’s degree should investigations find that it was indeed awarded through violation of prevailing regulations.