Purwokerto – Hundreds of students at the University of Soedirman (Unsoed) staged a demonstration on their campus on Thursday against their rector.

They demanded Prof. Soejarwo resign as rector of the state-run university in Purwokerto, Central Java, for "failing" to protect the rights of students. "Out! Out! Rector! Now!" the protesters yelled in front of the rectorate building.

They rejected the university's decision to charge between Rp 5 million and Rp 180 million for its "Education Operational Fund" (BOPP) for new students. According to the demonstrators, the policy posed a burden on some 2,000 new students.

Around 20 percent of new students who passed the national selection test refused to re-register enrolment with Unsoed because they could not afford the fund, protest leader Helmy Shoim said. "So far the university has yet to explain what it will use the BOPP fund for," he said.

The protesters set fire to their posters at around 11:30 a.m. and provided fake banknotes to security guards and employees before leaving peacefully.