Foreign universities may operate in RI: MK

JAKARTA. The Constitutional Court has rejected a judicial review submitted by six students from Padang-based Andalas University to challenge the 2012 higher education law that legalizes the presence of foreign universities in the country.

The panel of judges ruled that the existence of foreign universities would not lead to an increase in the cost of higher education, as the plaintiffs had argued.

The court said that all foreign universities would have to obey the law in the country and cooperate with local universities.

“Permission to establish an educational institution would be granted selectively, with a few considerations on areas and programs that are offered,” Justice Arief Hidayat said on Thursday.

The Higher Education Law, which gives universities from around the world the chance to open branches in the country, was feared to encourage local universities to become profit-oriented.