HARIANKALTIM.COM – Sekretaris Daerah Provinsi Kalimantan Timur, Sri Wahyuni, menyatakan bahwa program pendidikan gratis melalui Gratispol merupakan bukti komitmen Pemerintah Provinsi Kalimantan Timur untuk membuka akses pendidikan tinggi bagi generasi muda tanpa terkendala biaya.
Hal ini terwujud melalui penandatanganan Perjanjian Kerja Sama (PKS) antara Pemerintah Provinsi Kaltim dengan tujuh perguruan tinggi negeri (PTN) yang membebaskan Uang Kuliah Tunggal (UKT) bagi mahasiswa baru tahun ajaran 2025/2026.
Penandatanganan berlangsung di Kantor Gubernur Kaltim, Senin, 16 Juni 2025. Sebanyak 16.823 mahasiswa baru tercatat sebagai penerima manfaat.
Tujuh PTN yang terlibat meliputi:
Universitas Mulawarman (7.714 mahasiswa)
UIN Sultan Aji Muhammad Idris (2.225)
Politeknik Negeri Samarinda (2.122)
Poltekkes Kemenkes Kaltim (997)
Politani Samarinda (465)
Politeknik Negeri Balikpapan (1.020)
Institut Teknologi Kalimantan (2.280)
Sri Wahyuni menjelaskan bahwa meskipun pendidikan tinggi bukanlah kewenangan daerah, Pemprov Kaltim tetap berkomitmen untuk terlibat langsung dalam membuka akses pendidikan melalui kolaborasi dengan PTN.
“Ini wujud kesungguhan Pemprov Kaltim untuk membangun generasi emas. Kami bekerja sama dengan PTN yang sudah siap dengan data mahasiswa baru, sehingga program bisa segera dijalankan,” ujar Sri Wahyuni.
Saat ini, kebijakan difokuskan pada mahasiswa baru, sementara bantuan untuk mahasiswa semester dua hingga delapan direncanakan pada tahun anggaran 2026.
Kepala Biro Kesra Setdaprov Kaltim, Dasmiah, menambahkan, dari 53 perguruan tinggi yang sebelumnya menandatangani MoU, hanya tujuh PTN yang memenuhi syarat dan melanjutkan ke tahap PKS. Program ini terbilang cepat terealisasi, hanya tiga bulan sejak pelantikan gubernur.
“Prosesnya sangat cepat. Dari Februari hingga PKS hari ini, kami berhasil mewujudkan program ini dalam waktu tiga bulan,” ujar Dasmiah.
PKS diteken setelah Peraturan Gubernur mendapat persetujuan Kementerian Dalam Negeri sebagai dasar hukum. Langkah selanjutnya adalah penyusunan petunjuk teknis (juknis) untuk memastikan pelaksanaan sesuai dengan tata kelola keuangan daerah.
Seluruh PTN sepakat tidak lagi memungut UKT dari mahasiswa baru, kecuali jika nominalnya melebihi batas subsidi. Dalam kasus tersebut, mahasiswa hanya menanggung selisih. Sekitar seribu mahasiswa Unmul yang sudah membayar UKT juga akan menerima pengembalian sesuai ketentuan.
Dengan regulasi dan kerja sama resmi, Kalimantan Timur menjadi provinsi pertama di Indonesia yang menyelenggarakan pembebasan UKT secara menyeluruh dan terstruktur. Program ini diharapkan dapat meningkatkan kualitas sumber daya manusia dan daya saing Kaltim menuju generasi emas. (ZYN/ADV/DISKOMINFO)
ENGLISH VERSION
The Regional Secretary of East Kalimantan, Sri Wahyuni, stated that the free education program through Gratispol is a testament to the commitment of the East Kalimantan Provincial Government to open access to higher education for the younger generation without financial barriers.
This commitment is realized through the signing of a Cooperation Agreement (PKS) between the East Kalimantan Provincial Government and seven public universities (PTN) that will exempt new students from paying the Single Tuition Fee (UKT) for the academic year 2025/2026.
The signing ceremony took place at the East Kalimantan Governor’s Office on Monday, June 16, 2025, with 16,823 new students recorded as recipients of the benefit.
The seven universities involved are:
Mulawarman University (7,714 students)
Sultan Aji Muhammad Idris State Islamic University (2,225)
Samarinda State Polytechnic (2,122)
Kemenkes East Kalimantan Health Polytechnic (997)
Samarinda Agricultural Polytechnic (465)
Balikpapan State Polytechnic (1,020)
Kalimantan Institute of Technology (2,280)
Sri Wahyuni explained that although higher education is not the responsibility of regional governments, the East Kalimantan Provincial Government remains committed to directly participating in opening access to education through collaboration with the universities.
“This is a manifestation of the East Kalimantan Provincial Government’s determination to build a golden generation. We are working with universities that already have data on new students, so the program can be implemented immediately,” said Sri Wahyuni.
Currently, the policy focuses on new students, while assistance for students in their second to eighth semesters is planned for the 2026 fiscal year.
Dasmiah, the Head of the East Kalimantan Provincial Secretariat’s Bureau of Welfare, added that out of 53 higher education institutions that previously signed an MoU, only seven public universities met the requirements and proceeded to the PKS stage. The program has been implemented quickly, just three months after the governor’s inauguration.
“The process has been very fast. From February to the signing of the PKS today, we have successfully implemented the program in just three months,” said Dasmiah.
The PKS was signed after the Governor’s Regulation received approval from the Ministry of Home Affairs as the legal basis. The next step is the preparation of technical guidelines (juknis) to ensure the program follows regional financial governance standards.
All PTNs have agreed not to collect UKT from new students unless the tuition exceeds the subsidy limit. In such cases, students will only bear the difference. Around 1,000 students from Mulawarman University who have already paid UKT will also receive refunds according to the applicable regulations.
With the formal regulation and collaboration in place, East Kalimantan becomes the first province in Indonesia to implement a comprehensive and structured UKT exemption program. This initiative is expected to improve the quality of human resources and enhance East Kalimantan’s competitiveness, paving the way for the golden generation. (ADV/RED4/e)