Minister of Education Satryo Being Protested, Following Neni Herlina's Unilateral Dismissal

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Hundreds of people dressed in black have been holding a protest in the courtyard of Building D of the , Science, and Technology (Kemendiktisaintek) office since Monday morning, January 20, 2025.

The members of the Ditjen Dikti Employee Association held a peaceful Black Monday protest.

The protest was held following one of Kemendiktisaintek's employees, Neni Herlina, who was dismissed unilaterally by the Minister of Education and Technology Satryo Soemantri Brodjonegoro.

The dismissal was allegedly carried out without clear procedures and reasons. Before being dismissed, it was known that Neni held the position of Junior Expert Prahum & Acting Household.

Based on Tempo's monitoring in the field, the employees who protest shouted "Fight! Fight!". Two banners were unfurled with the words "We are ASN (State Civil Apparatus), Paid by the State, Working for the State, Not Servants of the Family" and "State Institutions are Not Satryo and Wife's Private Companies". Across the banners, there were rows of flower arrangements written with expressions of disappointment over Satryo's decision to fire Neni.

_{(Picture above) Neni Herlina, who was the victim of the dismissal of the Minister of Education and Science and Technology, was met at the Black Monday Peaceful Action event which was a solidarity action for her dismissal and was held in the courtyard of Building D of the Ministry of Education and Science and Technology office, Central Jakarta on Monday, January 20, 2025. TEMPO/Hanin Marwah.}

Neni, who was also present at the demonstration, stated that her dismissal occurred on Friday afternoon, January 17, 2025. At that time, she was in her office. The Minister of Higher Education, Science, and Technology (Mendiktisaintek), Satryo Soemantri Brodjonegoro, suddenly barged into Neni's office and immediately asked her to leave the room.

"'Get out to Dikdasmen!' 'Bring all your belongings!," said Neni, imitating Satryo's sentence in a high tone.

Neni was confused as to why she was suddenly fired. She suspected that the dismissal started from a table in Satryo's office that he might need to replace. "Then all the household problems that occurred in the office led back all directly to me, so I had to be fired from this institution, Wallahu A'lam Bishawab (Only God knows the truth)," she said.

Head of the Directorate General of Higher Education Employees Association, Suwitno, explained that Neni's dismissal occurred due to a misunderstanding of the details of the duties that should not be Neni's scope of responsibility. According to him, Neni received a task outside her duties as a Junior Expert Prahum & Acting Household.

"Mrs. Neni actually serves for the needs of the ministry's household. However, there may have been a misunderstanding in carrying out that task," he said.

Neni added that her dismissal did not go through a clear procedure. Until now she has not received any clarity regarding her status at the and Technology. "So I'm scared. Should i go to the office today or not. I'm confused too," she said.

Neni admitted that she was embarrassed because the dismissal was carried out in front of her colleagues and interns who were in the same division as her. Neni hopes that by carrying out this morning's action, the incident will not happen again in the future and befall other employees.

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