In an interview conducted at the Salemba Campus, Jakarta on Friday, June 23 2023, Rifki Mujahid Ziyad, a student at the Faculty of Dentistry (FKG) Universitas Indonesia (UI) class of 2017 who were admitted via the SBMPTN route (currently called UTBK-SNBT) revealed his testimony while studying at FKG UI.
Rifki, who is the first child of a father whose profession is a nurse at a private hospital, was wrong when he imagined how expensive it would be to study at FKG UI.
“Wow, when I entered dentistry, I imagined it would be expensive. My family conditions can also be said to be in the lower middle class, my younger siblings are still at school, my father’s salary is limited, so that’s something to think about. As it turns out, when I applied for education costs according to my abilities, thank God I was approved for 4.6 million rupiah. In fact, when I first started, I paid in installments three times. The first month is 50%, the second month is 30%, and the third month is 20%.” said Rifki.
When it was confirmed that studying at FKG UI was expensive, Rifki answered “That’s not true.”
Even though the nominal cost of education is relatively cheap, this student who aspires to own a dental clinic admits that there is no difference in the facilities provided by the campus to its students just because of the difference in education costs.
“If we talk about what we get, it’s the same, right? UI doesn’t look at its students based on how much they pay. Even though the education costs are divided into several classes, UI can provide the same facilities to its students. At FKG, there are lots of practicums, so we all get general laboratory facilities, skills labs, practicum materials, and student facilities in general. Even if there are tools that have to be purchased, they are not expensive and are what we will need someday. You can also get around this by borrowing from seniors,” said the student who is currently undergoing Co-Ass in his third year.
Apart from the cost of education which he feels is very affordable, and the facilities provided are also very adequate, Rifki emphasized that there are still many scholarship opportunities that can be maximized by all students as long as they have a strong desire to follow all existing application procedures, and are able to maintain their academic achievements. Rifki conveyed this because he was also a scholarship recipient during his professional education or Co-Ass .
“Since the second semester during the Co-Ass period, there have been scholarship opportunities. I got this scholarship from the PAII Productive Waqf Foundation. This foundation is engaged in managing a network of waqf-based dental clinics under the MHDC Group which is owned by one of the FKG UI alumni. This scholarship is intended for prospective dentists who are currently pursuing professional education. Apart from these scholarships, there are actually a lot of scholarship opportunities at UI, as long as you want to try and make the effort. During my undergraduate education, I also received a scholarship from an NGO (Non-Government Organization).” added Rifki.
In the closing session of the interview, Rifki gave messages to all prospective students and new students who are still doubtful and worried about education financing at UI. The message from Rifki, UI upholds fairness in setting education fees for all its students as long as they include honest and valid data in the application process. If there are mistakes that burden students, UI remains open for negotiation to guarantee a commitment that no students will drop out due to financial problems.
“UI already has a mechanism for determining tuition funding which is made as fair as possible in accordance with the documents submitted for each class, as well as our abilities as students, and it is UI’s obligation to its students to determine tuition amounts that are fair and not burdensome. Don’t hesitate to convey our situation as honestly as possible and in as much detail as possible to UI, and communicate all the obstacles we face to the faculty, because studying at UI is everyone’s right regardless of financial condition and without burdening those of us who have been accepted as students.” concluded Rifki.
