More Indonesian students gain access to leading universities worldwide.
Indonesia’s Garuda Top School programme helped 388 students gain admission to prestigious universities worldwide during the 2025/2026 academic year, according to the Government Communications Agency (Bakom).
Speaking at a press conference in Jakarta on Wednesday, Bakom Head Mr. M. Qodari said the figure was 177 percent higher than the 140 Garuda School graduates admitted to universities during the previous academic year.
The latest graduates secured places at leading institutions across several countries, including the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, the University of New South Wales in Australia, and Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. They were also admitted to the University of Toronto in Canada, the University of California, Berkeley, in the United States, Wageningen University & Research in the Netherlands, and Paris Sciences et Lettres University in France.
Mr. Qodari attributed the increase to the programme’s comprehensive approach to talent development and its partnerships with overseas universities. To prepare students for international applications, the programme provides SAT and IELTS preparation, foreign-language proficiency programmes, personal branding and essay-writing training, character development, and assistance with university applications worldwide.
The programme’s international focus is also reflected in the government’s scholarship support. Mr. Qodari highlighted the 2026 Garuda Scholarship, which has supported 515 students pursuing higher education in Indonesia and overseas. Recipients are studying in Australia, Singapore, Canada, China, the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, South Korea, Belgium, France and Hong Kong.
These initiatives form part of a broader effort to expand access to high-quality education across Indonesia. The Garuda Top School programme operates through two schemes. The first establishes new senior high schools operated directly by the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology, with four schools launched for the 2025/2026 academic year in South Timor Tengah, East Nusa Tenggara; East Belitung, Bangka Belitung Islands; South Konawe, Southeast Sulawesi; and Bulungan, North Kalimantan.
Alongside these newly established schools, the government is bringing existing high-performing schools into the programme. Under this second scheme, 12 schools joined in 2025, followed by another 30 in 2026, bringing the programme to 42 schools across 15 provinces.
The expansion is intended to make the programme’s opportunities available to more students in the years ahead. The Government of Indonesia aims to integrate at least 80 Garuda Top Schools by 2029, with 20 schools planned for designation in 2027 and another 18 in 2028.
With more schools expected to join, the programme could give a growing number of Indonesian students the preparation, support and international pathways needed to pursue higher education at leading universities worldwide.
Source: ANTARA News
