Prof. Dr. Abu Rokhmad Welcomed UIII Rector Prof. Dr. Jamhari for Consultancy

UIII, JAKARTA – On May 21, 2024, Prof. Dr. Abu Rokhmad, acting Director of the Directorate General of Islamic Education, welcomed the visit of UIII Rector Prof. Dr. Jamhari at his office in Central Jakarta. The visit aimed to seek consultancy on three administrative concerns, namely the lecturers' double-homebase, the accreditation of UIII doctoral programs, and the establishment of a home account for UIII lecturers.

Prof. Dr. Jamhari was accompanied by the Chairman of the Academic Senate, Rifqi Muna, Ph.D, UIII Secretary Dr. Chaider S. Bamualim, Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Business, Prof. Dian Masyita, Ph.D, and other UIII officials. Meanwhile, Prof. Dr. Abu Rokhmad was accompanied by Prof. Dr. Ahmad Zainul Hamdi, Director of Islamic Higher Education at the ministry.

In the meeting, Prof. Dr. Jamhari highlighted an administrative challenge sourced from the lecturers’ double homebase situation, where several lecturers at UIII also teach at other universities. This dual affiliation hampers the accreditation process of UIII’s doctoral programs due to the shortage of lecturers with the functional status of ‘professors’.

Prof. Dr. Jamhari also discussed UIII’s need to enhance its lecturer human resources through transfers and new appointments. Currently, the transfer proposals for UIII lecturers fall into two categories: (1) transfer of lecturers willing to resign from their current universities, and (2) assignments based on need, including lectures serving for the Ministry of Religious Affairs and lecturers from other institutions.

Another issue raised during the visit was the necessity of establishing a home account for lecturers to facilitate payments and the certification program for lecturers as civil servants (PNS). Prof. Dr. Jamhari requested the Directorate General of Islamic Education to create the UIII home account to streamline the administrative processes

In response to these issues, Prof. Dr. Abu Rokhmad, acting Director of the Directorate General of Islamic Education, explained that lecturers who wish to transfer to UIII must convey their intent. This way, the Rector of UIII can discuss the matter with the Rector of the originating university, followed by an official letter requesting the transfer.

For this process, the Director of Islamic Higher Education, Prof. Dr. Ahmad Zainul Hamdi, stated that from now on, his institution would promote transfer rather than a 'double-homebase' scheme, suggesting that lecturers must confirm their homebase and transfer if they want to move to UIII. Additionally, for civil servant lecturers at UIII who are currently on assignments, it would be better to transfer them, he added.

Regarding the creation of UIII lecturers’ home account, Prof. Dr. Ahmad Zainul Hamdi explained that his office could not yet process it due to the unclear status of the lecturers. He suggested resolving these issues first, so that he can proceed with the creation of the home account.

Prof. Dr. Abu Rokhmad added that as a university with a legal entity (PTN-BH), UIII’s administration must be eased, but this should be done in line with public accountability.

During the meeting, UIII Secretary Dr. Chaider S. Bamualim conveyed the increasing interest of prospective UIII students, which has been progressive year over year. In the academic year 2021/2022, UIII received 1,009 applicants. The number increased to 1,496 applicants in 2022/2023. In the academic year 2023/2024, a total of 2,009 applied to UIII. This figure rose significantly in 2024/2025, with 3,185 applicants from 78 countries registering for admission to UIII.

The Director General of Islamic Education received this information enthusiastically and expressed hope that these numbers would continue to increase in the coming years. Prof. Dr. Abu Rokhmad advised that the high interest of prospective students applying to UIII must be aligned with the spirit of competitiveness, referring to the “global competitiveness ranking”.

In addition, Prof. Dr. Abu Rokhmad also advised to enhance the promotion of UIII as a global reference for the implementation of Wasathiyah Islam. He said that community activities directly related to promotional strategies could be held routinely every week, whilst actively engaging in promotional activities on the Religious Affairs Ministry’s website and social media.

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