Professorships revoked over ‘predatory’ publishing scandal

The professorships of 11 academics at Indonesia’s Lambung Mangkurat University (ULM) were revoked not long after they were inaugurated on 10 October, due to alleged academic fraud, a growing phenomenon that experts say is damaging Indonesian higher education standards and eroding trust.

Indonesia’s Education, Culture, Research and Technology Ministry sent a team to investigate after receiving a report from an anonymous whistleblower that at least 11 of the university’s professors, mainly from the Law Faculty, published academic papers in what is popularly called “predatory journals” – journals that publish papers mainly in return for payments, with minimum peer review and almost guaranteed acceptance.

The investigation resulted in the revocation this month of their professorships and the downgrading of the university’s accreditation status from A to C last month, after the ministry discovered the professors paid 70 to 135 million rupiah (US$4,500 to US$8,640) to have their articles published.

The academics are still teaching at the university but without the title of professor.

Another 20 ULM professors from different faculties are now under investigation by the ministry’s inspectorate general for similar allegations, and more are expected to be summoned for investigation by the ministry. The ministry probe will include proving they went through the correct procedures to gain their professorships.

Systemic problem

Arief Anshory, senior lecturer in economics at Bandung-based Padjadjaran University, said the case was “the tip of the iceberg” in what he noted has become a systemic problem in Indonesian universities.

Anshory, who is also a member of the Indonesian Caucus for Academic Freedom (KIKA), said the same phenomenon – professorial candidates cheating the system – was occurring at other universities. “If we review all professors in Indonesia, half of them might be disqualified,” he maintained, in remarks to University World News.

University rectors themselves encourage lecturers to speed up the journey to gaining professorships in order to enhance the university’s reputation. Reputed universities have better opportunities to attract financial resources and bigger academic projects.

“Every university wants to be among the top 10 or top 20 (in the country),” Anshory said, adding: “Several of them are so ambitious [they want] to become ‘world class’ universities. So, they do everything they can to achieve that, often at the expense of academic ethics and integrity.”

ULM Rector Ahmad Alim Bahri said his university had set a target of becoming one of Indonesia’s top 20 universities next year (2025).

“The case of the 11 professors does not prevent us from achieving that target. This year, we have 124 new professors, making the [case of the] 11 professors insignificant,” he told a press conference on 7 October in Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan where the university is located.

The number of professors, and particularly the professor-student ratio, is an important quality indicator for universities.

Among the requirements set out by the ministry for applying for professorships is the need to have at least one paper published in an international scientific journal listed by the Scopus index, and at least 10 years of teaching experience.

The Scopus multidisciplinary database of peer-reviewed publications is regarded as the global standard for high-quality academic journals, books and related literature.

However, as the investigation team discovered, the 11 ULM professors resorted to publishing their papers in journals that did not meet this standard.

Networks

Anonymous sources told University World News that the illicit practice of academics using predatory journals to gain professorships is linked to a network “which only certain people are aware of”. The secret network involves several government officials within and outside the education ministry and journal editors.

The ministry investigation also found that some members of the education ministry’s assessment team who are responsible for recommending and evaluating professorship applications, had also committed ethical violations, including soliciting bribes from applicants to approve their professorships even though they had not published in Scopus-indexed journals.

Lukman (one name), director of human resources at the ministry told BBC News Indonesian this type of academic misconduct was not just found at ULM, noting it was the actions of ‘individuals’ who manipulate the system, and had been sanctioned accordingly.

’Race’ for professorships

Competition among universities to increase the number of guru besar, the Indonesian term for professor, is a new phenomenon in Indonesia, according to Asep Saeful Muhtadi, professor of communication at the State Islamic University Sunan Gunung Djati Bandung.

“The number of professors is an indicator of university reputation and quality. But what is neglected is how to achieve it,” he told University World News.

He described the race to increase the number of professors as “out of control”, saying there “should be swift measures to put this back on track. If not, there will be a severe decline in the quality of professors.”

Muhtadi said the regulations and procedures for acquiring professorships should be reinforced and made more effective before the situation gets worse.

He noted, the fever to become guru besar has also spread among Indonesia’s elites, mainly politicians.

“It seems easier now for officials and politicians to become professors at the expense of academic ethics and integrity,” he added.

The Bandung Institute of Technology Professors' Forum (FGB ITB) pointed to a loophole in the Higher Education Law that allowed non-permanent lecturers, under certain conditions, to be granted professorships based on the recommendation of the universities they work for.

According to the forum universities have the implicit knowledge based on experience of academic expertise that contributes to the development of science and the community.

"Unfortunately, this [quality control] is not happening, resulting in many people obtaining a professorship despite not having a full-time job at a university," it said in a written statement.

It added that resorting to unethical practices to gain professorships could lower the country's academic standard and erode trust in Indonesian educational institutions.