JAKARTA – The statutory protections governing academic freedom in Indonesia are facing a systemic challenge as the administration of President Prabowo Subianto integrates higher education institutions into the execution of state policy.
While Law 12 of 2012 on Higher Education explicitly protects scientific autonomy and freedom of academic expression, recent directives and administrative actions indicate a shift toward universities acting as implementers of government initiatives rather than independent centers of research and critique.
The transition is characterized by a move away from blunt authoritarian repression toward a model of “benign collaboration,” where access to state programs and official partnerships are used to align campus leadership with the executive branch. For university leaders, decisions about cooperation increasingly determine eligibility for funding, infrastructure projects, and formal recognition as strategic partners of government.
Integration of Universities into Social Policy
A primary example of this integration is the Free Nutritious Meals program (Makan Bergizi Gratis, MBG), the flagship social policy of the Subianto administration. The program is designed to provide food to millions of children, breastfeeding mothers, pregnant women, and other vulnerable demographics as part of a broader push to address stunting and inequality.
The initiative has faced significant criticism, specifically following several reported cases of food poisoning that affected thousands of children. Public health experts and civil society groups have questioned procurement standards, monitoring mechanisms, and the pace at which the scheme is being scaled nationwide. Despite these controversies, the state has moved to secure university support for the program as a way to bolster implementation capacity and technical legitimacy.
In April 2026, Minister of Higher Education, Science, and Technology Brian Yuliarto inaugurated a campus-based MBG kitchen at Hasanuddin University in Makassar, a major public institution in eastern Indonesia. During the inauguration, Yuliarto argued that higher education institutions should support the president’s initiatives as part of their “social responsibility.” He stated that the facility could serve as a site for:
- Practical application of nutrition science and food safety standards
- Academic research on program impact and delivery models
- Program development and policy experimentation in partnership with ministries
The acceptance of this role by Hasanuddin University, and the expressed willingness of other campuses to follow suit, marks a departure from the traditional role of the university as an external evaluator of public policy. In effect, universities are being repositioned as operational arms of social programs whose design and oversight remain concentrated in the executive.
Administrative Capture and Rector Co-option
The alignment of university leadership with the palace has been reinforced through direct presidential engagement and pre-existing regulatory levers over campus governance.
In March 2025, President Subianto met with rectors and leaders of both public and private universities at the presidential palace to discuss the role of higher education in “national progress” and implementation of priority programs. Participants described the meeting as setting expectations that universities would “contribute solutions” to flagship agendas rather than simply monitor or critique them.
This was followed in January 2026 by a presidential briefing involving approximately 1,200 rectors, professors, and higher education leaders. The Cabinet Secretariat defined the event as an official venue for the president to convey “directions” and strategic views to education stakeholders – language that, in practice, blurs the line between consultation and instruction.
This administrative pressure is supported by existing structural mechanisms:
- Ministerial Regulation 19 of 2017: This regulation grants the minister 35% of the vote in the selection of state university rectors, giving central government an outsized formal stake in campus leadership outcomes.
- Political lobbying: Academics have raised concerns that this voting power encourages candidates to lobby political parties and the palace to secure their positions, weakening collegial self-governance and exposing universities to partisan bargaining.
- Institutional support: The Indonesian Rectors Forum has reportedly declared its support for the priority programs of the administration, signalling to rank-and-file academics that institutional loyalty is aligned with government policy.
Together, these tools create a dense web of incentives and vulnerabilities. Rectors responsible for budgets, promotions, and disciplinary processes operate in an environment where distance from the executive can carry tangible institutional costs.
Student Suspensions and Campus Censorship
Parallel to the co-option of administration, a climate of restriction has emerged regarding student expression, with disciplinary measures increasingly justified in the language of decorum and “academic culture.”
Shortly after the inauguration of Prabowo Subianto and Gibran Rakabuming Raka, the student executive body at the faculty of social and political sciences at Universitas Airlangga displayed a satirical flower board criticizing the new government. The deanery responded by suspending three student leaders. Although the suspensions were eventually revoked after public criticism, the administration maintained that students must use language that fits “academic culture,” signalling that political satire and sharp criticism could be deemed out of bounds.
In November 2025, a student at the University of August 17 1945, Jakarta, was suspended for the remainder of the academic year after organizing a discussion titled “Soeharto is Not a Hero.” The event was a response to the president’s decision to award former president Soeharto the title of National Hero. Campus security locked the venue and the dean ordered the cancellation of the discussion. The case highlighted the extent to which national-level symbolic decisions can now shape what is considered acceptable debate on campus.
Further pressure has been applied to the screening of Pesta Babi (Pig Feast), a 2026 documentary by Dandhy Laksono and Cypri Paju Dale. The film examines national strategic projects in South Papua and their impact on Indigenous land rights and the environment, placing it squarely at the intersection of development policy and human rights.
Reports indicate that university authorities and members of the military disrupted several campus screenings and viewing parties, directly intervening in what would normally be protected spaces for critical discussion. Coordinating Minister for Law, Human Rights, Immigration, and Corrections Yusril Ihza Mahendra denied that a formal government directive had been issued to ban the film, framing the disruptions as isolated or local decisions. For academics and students, the effect has been a broad chilling signal: topics that intersect with security policy or contested historical narratives now carry higher personal and institutional risk.
Decline in Global Academic Freedom Rankings
The erosion of autonomy is reflected in the Academic Freedom Index, which tracks the ability of academics to research and teach without state interference and is frequently consulted by universities, donors, and diplomatic missions when assessing the robustness of a country’s knowledge sector.
| Index Year | Indonesia Score (Scale 0-1) | Global Position/Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 0.59 | Baseline |
| 2025 | 0.5 – 0.6 | Bottom 40-50% globally |
| 2026 (for 2025 data) | 0.33 | Significant decline in research and teaching freedom |
The index identifies campus integrity and academic and cultural expression as the indicators showing the most consistent decline, suggesting that pressures are not limited to individual cases but are reshaping the overall environment in which knowledge is produced.
The current state of university autonomy stands in contrast to the historical role of Indonesian campuses, specifically during the 1997-1998 crisis when student-led protests were instrumental in the resignation of Soeharto and the subsequent democratic transition. That legacy underpins Indonesia’s appeal as a partner for international research collaboration and foreign investment in its higher education sector.
The 2026 Academic Freedom Index confirms that Indonesia’s lowest-performing indicator is currently the freedom to research and teach. For policymakers, this trajectory raises questions about the long-term resilience of institutions tasked with providing evidence for public policy and about whether Indonesia’s universities can continue to serve as independent reference points for a region watching closely how the world’s largest archipelagic democracy balances growth, stability, and dissent.
