Academia
Improving lecturers' welfare requires more than raising salaries. It requires rethinking how higher education itself is financed.
A student of a private university poses in a graduation cap and gown a cap on Oct. 6, 2025, during a professional photo shoot at Banteng Square Park in Central Jakarta.
(AFP/Yasuyoshi Chiba)
A recent Constitutional Court hearing on lecturers' welfare brought academic salaries into the national spotlight. A witness holding a doctoral degree testified that her income does not reflect the years of education, research and professional commitment required to become an academic. Her testimony quickly reinforced a familiar conclusion: Indonesian lecturers are underpaid.While that concern is understandable, focusing on salaries alone risks overlooking a deeper structural problem.
