The sweet smiles of young people who have just celebrated their graduation from high school are greeted with an increase in the cost of admission to state universities (PTN). This has suddenly discouraged people from continuing their dreams to be able to sit in college. This condition is thought to be due to the regulation room of Permendikbud Number 2 of 2024 concerning Standard Unit of Higher Education Operational Costs (SSBPOT) which authorizes PTN to increase the Single Tuition Fee (UKT) and IPI (Institutional Development Fee). The community’s anxiety was further heated by the statement of the PLT Secretary General of Higher Education of the Ministry of Education and Culture who said that “Higher education, including tertiary education, is not included in the compulsory education program”. This statement seems to confirm that higher education is a luxury opportunity that can only be accessed by certain circles. This is reminiscent of the colonial era that clustered educational designations for nobles and natives.
What’s the news about the golden Indonesia of 2045?
This condition contradicts the steps taken by Bappenas, which has prepared the National Long-Term Development Plan (RPJNPN) 2025-2045 in support of the vision of a Golden Indonesia 2045, realizing Indonesia as a “Sovereign, Advanced and Sustainable Archipelago. One of the vision’s targets is the increased competitiveness of human resources with one of the development directions being equitable quality education (IE2). Reflecting on the reality of the very high increase in education costs that cannot be afforded by most people, it seems pessimistic that the plan can be realized. As if to confirm the data from BPS in 2023 which shows that the Indonesian population with higher education is still low, at 10.15%; then the vision and mission of the Golden Indonesia in 2045 feels far from the fire. The policy makers should revisit the 4th paragraph of the Preamble of the 1945 Constitution that “the state has an obligation to educate the nation’s life”, so as to provide access to higher education that can be reached by the community fairly and equitably.
Gen Z Takes a Stand
Seeing the various dynamics of education issues that are spreading in society today, Gen Z should actively take a stand. Not just waiting for fyp from social media platforms and then becoming followers of existing trends; but must think seriously and make choices about the fate of their future careers. Whether they choose to work/entrepreneurship, go to college, or get married. These choices become alternatives that are commonly used as the direction of life goals after individuals graduate from high school and each has logical consequences.
Why go to college?
Indeed, going to college is not yet compulsory in Indonesia, but it is one of the avenues of choice for Gen Z who have begun to enter the early adult phase to develop their potential. One of the characteristics of someone entering the early adult phase based on William Perry’s theory is having epistemic cognition, namely
able to think at the level of facts, beliefs, and ideas. In this epistemic thinking stage, it is characterized by: (1) Gen Z thinks dualistically, which is able to divide information, values, and authority into right and wrong, good and bad; (2) Relativistic thinking, which views all knowledge as embedded in a framework of thought, thus realizing the diversity of opinions on many topics; (3) Commitment in relativistic thinking, which is trying to formulate a more satisfying perspective that synthesizes contradictions, so as to be able to look for different perspectives in their views. This stage of thinking will be highly honed when Gen Z sits in college because they will be brought together by various human characteristics from different cultural backgrounds, so they will be able to deal with culture shock in the academic community. In addition, epistemic thinking will help Gen Z to explore values, roles, and behaviors that can strengthen their worldview.
The Psychological Impact of College
In addition to offering a pathway to higher careers, increased skills, and financial security in the future; college has a changing impact on Gen Z in psychological aspects, such as: First, Gen Z becomes better at reasoning about problems that do not have obvious solutions, identifying strengths and weaknesses in different ideas about complex problems, and reflecting on the quality of their own thinking; Second, their attitudes and values become broader; Third, it affects moral reasoning by increasing concern for individual rights and human welfare; Finally, Gen Z will be able to develop better self-understanding, higher self-esteem, and a firmer sense of identity (Berk, 2013).
The Importance of Selecting a Major
The success of a person in obtaining a bachelor’s degree is certainly not just “going through it”, it needs to be carefully prepared so as not to drop out in the middle of the road or become an eternal student as a permanent campus donor because of late graduation. The results of research conducted by Putra et al (2022) and Tamimi et al (2023) show that Gen Z tends to choose universities based on several factors; the top one is campus reputation, one of the indicators is professional bodies that work with the campus which can be seen from campus rankings both internationally and nationally, as well as the role of the academic community and alumni. Second is infrastructure; the quality of buildings and buildings supported by complete learning infrastructure facilities is a consideration for choosing a safe and comfortable place to study. Third, the location that is easily accessible and close to public facilities, is a favorite place for Gen Z with a high level of mobility. The fourth is promotion, which is the impact of successful campus branding on prospective new students who have a positive impression of the intended university. The variable that is no less important is cost, parents and Gen Z need to carefully calculate the cost of entry to the estimated funds needed to complete the study. In addition, it is necessary to consider the ease of access to scholarships or dispensations offered to anticipate the increase in tuition fees that can occur at any time. On the other hand, a personal component that is no less important must be owned by Gen-Z before making a choice, namely recognizing their potential first, so that Gen-Z can understand which majors are suitable for them.
abilities that encourage themselves to easily adjust and achieve brilliant achievements during campus life. Sorting out the choice of college is the first step to guarding the ideals so that they can be realized in the future. A very dynamic educational situation due to government regulations or the world order of education that can change at any time, needs to be addressed wisely. Recognizing self-potential coupled with a logical analysis of the need for higher education, needs to be done by Gen Z to get the best campus according to their dreams, both on red-plate campuses and private campuses. In addition, the government should be more committed to educating the nation’s life by creating inclusive and equitable education at all levels, both at primary education, secondary education, and tertiary education.
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