Jakarta (ANTARA) - The University of Indonesia (UI) on Wednesday decided to suspend the doctoral degree awarded to Bahlil Lahadalia, who is currently Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) in the Prabowo Subianto governmen
"UI apologizes to the public for the issues related to BL (Lahadalia), a doctoral program (S3) student at the School of Strategic and Global Studies (SKSG)," UI stated in a press release following the results of a 4 Organ Coordination meeting.
The awarding of the doctoral degree to Lahadalia, who is also the chair of Golkar Party, drew public attention because he completed his doctoral program in less than two years.
The minister got his PhD after one year and eight months, instead of the usual three or four years it takes to complete doctoral studies at the prestigious university.
He was awarded the doctorate with honors (cum laude) from the School of Strategic and Global Studies.
However, Lahadalia's paper has come under scrutiny, with speculation rife that it was the result of "joki" services, which involve someone getting paid to complete academic assignments on behalf of somebody else.
UI, one of Indonesia's largest universities, revealed that it conducted an in-depth evaluation of the governance of the Doctoral Program (S3) at SKSG, which graduated Lahadalia and awarded him a doctorate on October 16, 2024, "as a commitment to maintaining academic quality and integrity."
The university's investigation team, consisting of the Academic Senate and the Council of Professors, conducted an audit of the doctoral program at SKSG — from student admission to the examination process.
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Based on the investigation, UI decided to temporarily suspend the acceptance of new students into the SKSG Doctoral Program until a comprehensive audit of the program's governance and academic processes is completed.
The UI Board of Professors will also conduct an ethics hearing on potential violations committed during the supervision of doctoral program students.
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"This step was taken to ensure that the implementation of education at UI is carried out professionally and is free from potential conflicts of interest," the university stated.
"Considering the steps taken by UI, the graduation of BL from the SKSG Doctoral Program (S3) is suspended," the university added, informing that further action will follow the decision of the ethics hearing.