Minister of Research, Technology and Higher Education (Menristekdikti) M Nasir said in Jombang, East Java, on Tuesday (28/3), the Bidikmisi scholarship program is constrained by uneven familiarizing in various regions in Indonesia. There are gaps in number of Bidikmisi scholarship applicants for students in various regions.
Nasir explained that one of the reasons is the disparity in distribution of state universities (PTN) across the country. East Java, he added, is the province with a high number of applicants for Bidikmisi scholarships in view that this eastern most region of Java island has a large population and has relatively more PTN than other provinces.
He compared the number of Bidikmisi applicants between East Java and West Java. West Java has the problem of fewer state universities when compared with the vastness of the area and the total population. In other words, Nasir said West Java should have a more proportional number of state universities.
Referring to the data of last year’s scholarship enthusiasts, students of East Java ranked first in registrants of Bidikmisi 2016, that is as many as 47,933 applicants followed by second rank Central Java (40,469), West Java (31,211), West Sumatra (22,176), North Sumatra (13,443) and followed by other provinces. Nasir said the limitation in Bidikmisi familiarizing is addressed/ overcome by increasing promotions through the bidikmisi.dikti.go.id web page that could be accessed anytime.
The Bidikmisi scholarship program is a government program in existence since 2010. In the period from 2010 to 2016 a total of 352, 409 students obtained the Bidikmisi quota. In 2016, the number of students who won the scholarship totaled 74,128 and in 2017 the figure would be increased.
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