The Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology has explained the reasons behind replacing the term teknik with rekayasa in study program names. The change aligns with the official Indonesian equivalent of engineering.
The policy is outlined in Director General of Higher Education Decision Number 96/B/KPT/2025 issued in September 2025. Kemdiktisaintek stated that rekayasa is not a new term and is already listed in the Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language.
The use of rekayasa appears more often in multidisciplinary fields and emerging technologies such as software engineering and advanced materials engineering. The ministry emphasized that universities are not required to change existing program names.
Deputy Chair of Commission X of the Indonesian House of Representatives Lalu Hadrian Irfani called the change a positive step to align terminology with international standards. He stressed that universities retain freedom in implementation.
Kemdiktisaintek urged the public to focus on improving education quality and graduate competence rather than the name change alone.