Surabaya, East Java, Nov. 18 -- The Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology is encouraging private universities to expand access and improve their quality to pursue the gross enrollment ratio (GER) target set to be achieved by 2029.

"There are about three million high school graduates who cannot attend university. Private universities are highly needed to expand access to higher education," the ministry's Director of Institutional Affairs Mukhamad Najib said in Surabaya, East Java, on Tuesday.

He explained that the government targets raising the GER for higher education from 32 percent to 38 percent by 2029, making the role of private universities increasingly crucial to accelerating this achievement.

"We also want privat...