EduAsiaNews, Jakarta – The Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology has revised the requirements for lecturer certification for permanent faculty members at both public and private universities. The changes are stipulated in Ministerial Regulation of Higher Education, Science, and Technology Number 52 of 2025 on the Profession, Career, and Income of Lecturers, which was enacted on December 24, 2025.
Director of Human Resources at the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology, Suning Kusumawardhani, said the new regulation is designed to provide legal certainty while clarifying lecturer certification criteria. Certification is now positioned as a quality assurance instrument and a form of professional recognition that is more measurable and transparent.
One fundamental change is the simplification of lecturer status. The government now recognizes only two categories: permanent lecturers and non-permanent lecturers. This provision eliminates the previous classification that included permanent lecturers, non-permanent lecturers, and non-lecturer instructors.
Under the latest regulation, a permanent lecturer is defined as an academic who works full time at a higher education institution, fulfills a minimum workload equivalent to 12 semester credit units, and carries out planned and monitored tridharma performance. Lecturers who fail to meet one or all of these requirements are classified as non-permanent lecturers.
In line with these changes, the requirements to participate in lecturer certification have also been simplified. Article 17 stipulates four main requirements: holding permanent lecturer status, having at least two years of teaching experience at a higher education institution, holding a minimum academic rank of Assistant Expert, and passing certification conducted by an authorized higher education institution. These provisions eliminate several previous requirements, such as possession of Applied Approach (AA) certificates, Academic Potential Test (TKDA) and English Proficiency Test (TKBI) certificates, as well as fulfillment of lecturer workload for four consecutive semesters.
In addition to the requirements, the certification assessment mechanism has also been revised. Assessment now focuses solely on the lecturer’s portfolio, which includes academic qualifications, tridharma performance, perceptions from the academic community, and a self-statement of contributions. According to Suning, this simplification makes the certification process more efficient and streamlined without reducing the substance of lecturer quality assessment.
