Deputy Chief Justice Saldi Isra entering a panel courtroom for the judicial review hearing of case No. 5/PUU-XXIII/2025 on Higher Education, Wednesday (3/5/2025). Photo by MKRI/Fauzan.

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JAKARTA (MKRI) — The Constitutional Court (MK) held the preliminary hearing for case No. 5/PUU-XXIII/2025 on the judicial review of Law No. 12 of 2012 on Higher Education. The hearing took place on Wednesday, March 5, 2025 to hear the subject matters of the Petitioners’ petition.

The petition was filed by Agil Indriyati Yulistia, Baihaqy Hadi Trismaoka, and Yoselyne Aulia N. they challenge Article 65 paragraph (4) of the Higher Education Law, which reads, “The Government assigns the Legal-Entity Higher Education Institutions to provide affordable Higher Education for the Community.” The Petitioners believe that the provision could potentially cut down on the state’s responsibility in funding higher education, and could lead to higher tuitions, which would burden students, especially those from low economic status.

However, the Petitioners had sent a letter to withdraw the petition before the preliminary hearing started. Deputy Chief Justice Saldi Isra, who chaired the hearing alongside Constitutional Justices Ridwan Mansyur and Asrul Sani, stated that the Petitioners had to confirm the request directly.

“The Petitioners have submitted a petition withdrawal request letter and we will ask for confirmation on it. However, they are not present at today’s hearing, not even remotely. Therefore, we consider this case resolved and this withdrawal request will be discussed at the justice deliberation meeting,” Justice Saldi said.

The Petitioners challenged Article 65 paragraph (4) of the Higher Education Law against Article 31 paragraph (3) of the 1945 Constitution. The article stipulates that the Government is responsible for ensuring and implementing the national education system. They argued that the autonomy granted to PTN-BH (legal-entity higher education institutions) through the article has led to the state’s declining role in funding higher education. As a result, students from low economic status become more reliant on scholarships or limited subsidies, which could potentially widen the gaps in access to higher education.

The Petitioners also stated that students from higher economic status have better access to legal-entity higher education institutions, while from low economic status have very limited access due to financial difficulties. The Petitioners argued that this has led to gaps in access to higher education, which is contrary to the objective of national education, and could potentially lead to gaps in the quality of education in Indonesia.

The withdrawal of the petition means the case is considered resolved. The Court will discuss the withdrawal request at a justice deliberation meeting.

Author            : Utami Argawati
Editor            : N. Rosi
PR                 : Raisa Ayuditha M.
Translator       : Yuniar Widiastuti (NL)

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

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