“Students Seal Off Darma Agung University: ‘This Campus Is Being Destroyed by Greed'”

Students of Darma Agung University (UDA) have sealed the rectorate office building located on DR TD Pardede Street, Medan.

Several banners displaying student demands were seen hanging on the fences and walls of the rectorate building, which belongs to the DR TD Pardede family.

One of the demands visible on the banners reads: “We, the students of the Faculty of Engineering at UDA, demand the foundation to present valid legal documentation in front of all students.”

Another banner, placed right at the entrance of the rectorate office through the UDA Postgraduate building, states: “This campus is being destroyed by greed.”

Due to the sealing, the UDA Rectorate Office remained inactive, with no employees carrying out their usual duties.

The white gate, bearing a banner that says “Sealed by Students,” was locked by the students.

The situation drew attention from UDA students who were taking their end-of-semester exams on Monday across all faculties at UDA Medan.

Some female students expressed concern over the current state of UDA Medan.

Students from the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIP) were particularly worried about the validity of their exam results, as the exams are set to continue until August 2, 2025.

“We’re confused because there’s news that our exam grades won’t be recorded in the Higher Education Database (PDPT) for students who paid tuition through the new foundation,” one student said.

A hijab-wearing student revealed that her parents had urged her to transfer to another university without such issues.

“My parents are furious. They told me to move to another campus,” she said.

Negligence
A member of the Student Executive Board (BEM) from the Faculty of Engineering stated that the sealing would continue indefinitely.

“This means the seal will remain until the foundation and rectorate address our demands. Only then will we consider removing it,” they said.

The students are committed to ensuring a fair and transparent resolution to the issue.

Final-year students expressed disappointment with the government’s response, particularly the Higher Education Service Institution (LLDIKTI) for Region 1 Sumatra.

They suspect LLDIKTI has been negligent in addressing the conflict within the Darma Agung Education Foundation (YPDA), which manages UDA and the TD Pardede Institute of Science and Technology (ISTP).

“Seeing this negligence, we students are starting to doubt LLDIKTI’s intentions to resolve the conflict at UDA. What if this is being deliberately ignored? We hope our suspicions are wrong. If true, this would be a betrayal of education,” one student remarked.

Meanwhile, it has been reported that the UDA Rectors from both factions—one led by Partahi Siregar (Dr. Lilis S. Gultom) and the other by Hana Nelsri Kaban (Prof. Suwardi Lubis)—were summoned by the Head of LLDIKTI Region 1 Sumatra, Prof. Saiful Anwar Matondang.

However, the reason for the summons remains unclear.

Sources indicate that the summoning of both UDA Rectors is related to student protests last week, which culminated in the sealing of the rectorate office.