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The Petitioners’ attorney at the virtual petition revision hearing of the judicial review of Law No. 14 of 2005 on Teachers and Lecturers, Wednesday (27/7/2021). Photo by Humas MK/Bayu.

Wednesday, July 28, 2021 | 13:16 WIB

JAKARTA, Public Relations—The petition revision hearing of the judicial review of Law No. 14 of 2005 on Teachers and Lecturers was held by the Constitutional Court (MK) on Wednesday, July 28, 2021. The petition No. 20/PUU-XIX/2021 was filed by Sri Mardiyati, a FMIPA (Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences) lecturer of the University of Indonesia (UI).

Represented by Ignatius Supriadi and other attorneys, the Petitioner conveyed the revised petition following the advice by the panel chaired by Constitutional Justice Arief Hidayat at the preliminary hearing. She had revised the petition’s format following the Constitutional Court Regulation (PMK) No. 2 of 2021. “The petition has changed completely (compared to the initial one), Your Honors,” said Ignatius virtually.

He also explained that the Petitioner had elaborated on the articles in the 1945 Constitution used as touchstones as a basis for her constitutional impairment.

The Petitioner also reiterated her arguments. She believes Article 50 paragraph (4) of the Teacher and Lecturer Law along the phrase ‘the appointment and confirmation of certain levels of academic positions… shall be determined by each higher education unit in accordance with statutory regulations’ have multiple interpretations. The Minister of Education and Culture then issued a regulation that granted himself an authority that is against the meaning referred to in the a quo article.

The Petitioner also changed the petitum and requested that Article 50 paragraph (4) of the Teacher and Lecturer Law be declared unconstitutional. “Insofar as it is not interpreted as ‘the appointment and confirmation of certain levels of academic positions including professorship falls under the purview of the rector as the head of the higher education unit, without the minister’s intervention,’ Ignatius said.

Also read: FMIPA Lecturer Challenges Provision on Professorship Appointment

The Petitioner challenges Article 50 paragraph (4) of the Teacher and Lecturer Law, which reads, “Further provisions regarding the selection as referred to in paragraph (2) and the appointment and confirmation of certain levels of academic positions as referred to in paragraph (3) shall be determined by each higher education unit in accordance with statutory regulations.”

The Petitioner is a FMIPA (Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences) lecturer of the University of Indonesia (UI). Her last office is lektor kepala (associate professor). The UI rector recommended her appointment as professor to the Minister of Education and Culture in 2019, after a long selection process in UI, including academic paper assessment by a professor of mathematics from Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB). The nomination was denied by the Directorate-General of Higher Education on the ground of the paper not meeting requirements, when UI had already approved of the paper and its validity assessment results.

The Petitioner asserts that under Article 50 paragraph (4) of the a quo law, the appointment and confirmation of certain levels of academic positions, including a professorship, is the authority of the higher education unit or the university or the rector. However, due to the minister-assigned 2019 Operational Guidelines for Credit Score Assessment, such an authority falls on the Directorate General of Higher Education.

The Petitioner believes that is because Article 50 paragraph (4) of the a quo law mentions the phrase that the appointment and confirmation of professors is carried out by each unit following statutory regulations. The phrase is multi-interpretive because the Minister of Education and Culture then issued a regulation that grants himself the authority, which violates the substance or intention of Article 50 paragraph (4). Therefore, in the petitum, the Petitioner requested that the Article 50 paragraph (4) of the a quo law be repealed.

Writer        : Nano Tresna Arfana
Editor        : Lulu Anjarsari P.
PR            : Tiara Agustina
Translator  : Yuniar Widiastuti (NL)

Translation uploaded on 7/28/2021 17:25 WIB

Disclaimer: The original version of the news is in Indonesian. In case of any differences between the English and the Indonesian version, the Indonesian version will prevail.

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