Indonesian govt scrambles to help Indonesian students in the United States amid visa suspension policy
JAKARTA: The Higher Education, Science and Technology Ministry is looking for options to accommodate Indonesian students currently staying in the United States or planning to depart for their studies amid Washington's move to suspend visa processing for international students globally.
Several options considered by the ministry to avoid the students being stranded and hindered from continuing their studies were changing their scholarships, looking for possibilities to move the student's destination to other countries and continuing their studies at an Indonesian institution.
'We are anticipating [this situation] by also coordinating with the Foreign Ministry and scholarship providers, including the Endowment Fund for Education (LPDP),' said Higher Education, Science and Technology Minister Brian Yuliarto in Bandung on Thursday (May 29).
'We are watching, waiting and anticipating so that should the policy come into effect, we won't be caught off guard,' he continued.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered on Tuesday for embassies and consulates to pause scheduling appointments for student visas, pending new guidelines on checking applicants' social media postings, as reported by AFP.
The US State Department said on Thursday the suspension would be brief, with its spokesperson Tammy Bruce encouraging prospective students to seek visa appointments.
'I would not be recommending that if this was going to be weeks or months,' Bruce said, as quoted by AFP.
'I can tell you that it's something that would happen perhaps sooner than later.'
Following the announcement of Rubio's decision on Tuesday, Minister Brian said in a statement issued on Wednesday that his ministry would coordinate with various parties, universities abroad and in the country to explore possibilities of current and prospective Indonesian students in the US to move to their respective institutions.
The ministry also suggested Indonesian students in the US to not leave the country to avoid being denied reentry.
Brian also added that the higher education ministry would list Indonesian students for their study field, education level and visa status.
Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) rector Tatacipta Dirgantara separately conveyed the university's readiness to accept Indonesian students from the US should the government decide to push them to continue their education from Indonesia.
'We have a clear procedure for transfer students should the situation force us to do so,' Tatacipta said.
He added that ITB had done similar things after the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, DC on Sept. 11, 2001, when the university received Indonesian doctoral students and helped them continue their study in the country.
Harvard saga Rubio's decision on student visa suspension was announced one week after the US Department of Homeland Security revoked Harvard University's certification to participate in the Student and Exchange Visitor Program.
The decision effectively barred the university from accepting foreign students, who account for more than a quarter of its student body.
The revocation was reportedly triggered by Harvard's refusal to comply with a federal request to provide records of visa-holding students allegedly involved in 'illegal and violent activities'.
Minister Brian said the higher education ministry would ensure that affected students receive the necessary assistance should the situation deteriorate.
The Foreign Ministry said it was watching the policy's development closely, while the Indonesian Embassy in Washington, DC established communication with Indonesian students at Harvard.
Harvard filed a lawsuit against the federal government's decision, with US district judge Allison Burroughs ordering the halt of the policy.
During an injunction hearing for Harvard's lawsuit in Boston on Thursday, Judge Burroughs said she would later issue a preliminary injunction that gives 'some protection to international students' as the university and Trump's administration prepare to make their cases, AFP reported.
Former foreign minister and Prasetiya Mulya University rector Hassan Wirajuda welcomed Judge Burrough's injunction in Harvard's case.
He added that Prasetiya Mulya would be ready to receive Indonesian students studying in the US should the government decide to repatriate them.
In a post uploaded on Thursday, former deputy foreign minister and cofounder of the Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia (FPCI) Dino Patti Djalal urged Foreign Minister Sugiono to communicate with Rubio to convey Indonesia's concerns regarding the US administration's recent policies that potentially affect international students.
The Indonesian Embassy in Washington, DC previously said they had spoken with the US government and shared its 'deep concern over the negative effect' the policy has on Indonesian and other foreign students.
The embassy also called for a solution that could ensure Indonesian students at Harvard and other US universities to continue their studies. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
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