Three students from the Faculty of Law, Universitas Gadjah Mada (FH UGM), namely Muhammad Ridwan Siregar, Sendy Prasetya, and Hermadi Prananto, have developed the concept of Good Student Governance. Together with Nian Undayani Sarsa from the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences and Ester Yuniawati from the Faculty of Pharmacy, they sought to formulate a better governance model for student organizations. This year, their Student Creativity Program (Program Kreativitas Mahasiswa / PKM) research proposal entitled “Implementation of Good Governance in Student Organizations at Universitas Gadjah Mada to Realize Good Student Governance” successfully secured funding from the Directorate General of Higher Education (Direktorat Pendidikan Tinggi / Dikti). Although conducted within UGM, the research is intended to provide recommendations for student organizations throughout Indonesia.
According to Ridwan, the research originated from his concern regarding the condition of student organizations, which he perceived as gradually losing their direction and identity. “They demand transparency from faculties and from the university, yet student organizations themselves do not learn to be transparent internally,” Ridwan explained. In addition, issues such as monoloyalty toward political parties and low levels of student participation have further compounded the challenges currently faced by student organizations. “We aim to formulate recommendations that can at least serve as guidance for fellow students in managing student organizations more effectively,” Ridwan added.
The research, supervised by Triyanto Suharsono, S.H., a lecturer from the Department of Administrative Law at FH UGM, refers to the ten principles of good governance. From these ten principles, Ridwan and his team initially focused on developing three core principles: transparency, accountability, and participation. “These three principles constitute the fundamental responsibilities of student organizations. They must be transparent in financial matters, there must be supervisory mechanisms to ensure evaluation and prevent monoloyalty, and they must be participatory because student organizations represent the student body,” Ridwan explained.
According to Ridwan, these three principles have not yet been formally regulated within the Articles of Association (Anggaran Dasar / AD) and Bylaws (Anggaran Rumah Tangga / ART) of student organizations. Furthermore, their implementation remains largely cultural in nature and therefore highly dependent upon the leadership of each organization. The research is expected to produce a “White Paper” containing the conceptual framework of Good Student Governance, explanations regarding the ten principles of good governance, and recommendations for student organizations across Indonesia. (Fardi)
