Jakarta, July 2 -- Minister of Higher Education, Science, and Technology, Brian Yuliarto, has said that the unemployment rate in Indonesia cannot be solely blamed on the shortcomings of university graduates.

During a working meeting with Commission X of the House of Representatives (DPR) here on Wednesday, the minister highlighted the role of deindustrialization in the country as a factor in the rising unemployment rate.

"This means it is not necessarily because our graduates are unprepared for working," he explained.

He noted that part of the problem may lie in the readiness of industries to take in new graduates. Some industries may not be prepared to absorb new graduates, he said.

To address the issue from an educational perspectiv...