Overview

The Indonesian public was surprised by the recent news that an Indonesian university, specifically the Indonesia Cyber Education (ICE) Institute, had just appointed a foreign rector to head its operations.[1] This appointment led to heated public debate as to whether the introduction of such foreign parties into the local education system was really necessary.

In addition, the Minister of Research, Technology and Higher Education (Menteri Riset, Teknologi dan Pendidikan Tinggi – “MORTH”), as part of its affirmative action program, is set to raise the ranks of universities at which foreign rectors are appointed. However, this policy has been challenged by experts in International Law at the University of Indonesia, who have declared that this initiative is not in line with Indonesia’s current political framework.[2]