Parents become victims of school textbook competition<\/p>\n
Indra Harsaputra, The Jakarta Post\/Surabaya<\/p>\n
Sweat gushes over Nanang's face. Nanang, an employee with a book
\ndistribution company in Surabaya, was exhausted after a day of
\nselling textbooks to elementary schools in the city. It was a new
\nschool term and he expected to sell as many books as he could.<\/p>\n
He had been optimistic that he would be able to sell many more
\nbooks because those he was selling had been recommended by the
\nNational Education Standards Agency (BSNP), but reality was quite
\ndifferent. He only sold a few books.<\/p>\n
"Other distributors have slashed book prices. Teachers, who
\ndecide which books to be used by their students, choose to pick
\ncheaper books, although those are not recommended by the
\ngovernment," said Nanang.<\/p>\n
Nanang claimed that the books not recommended by the BSNP were
\n10 percent to 20 percent cheaper compared to books recommended by
\nthe standards agency. That does not include the discount normally
\ngiven by the book distributors. Normally, the book distributors,
\nwhose books are not recommended by the BSNP give a 40 percent to
\n50 percent discount, while distributors whose books are
\nrecommended by the standards agency only give 10 percent
\ndiscounts. "The discount is normally the cost for giving
\ncommissions to school teachers or the principals," he said.<\/p>\n
In order to compete with other distributors, especially those
\nwhose books are not recommended by the BSNP, Nanang offered the
\nschools a deal to pay in installments. "If the schools buy books
\nin a certain amount, they can pay by credit between two and six
\nmonths," said Nanang.<\/p>\n
Mursyid, an employee at a book distributor whose books are not
\nrecommended by the BSNP, acknowledged that the competition was
\ntough. As books from his company were not recommended by the
\ngovernment, he worked harder to work out closer relationships
\nwith teachers, school principals and officials with the local
\neducation office. And, so far, his approach has worked well, he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Out there, parents, who had become the victims of the business
\ncompetition, complained about school policies that obliged
\nstudents to buy books from schools.<\/p>\n
Anas, a parent of an elementary school student, complained
\nthat she had been compelled to buy the books. "I am afraid if I
\ndon't buy the books, then my children will not be admitted in the
\nschool," said Anas. A similar complaint was shared by other
\nparents in the city.<\/p>\n
The schools, especially the state schools, have normally
\nimposed registration fees amounting to Rp 500,000, on top of the
\nfee for books and school uniforms amounting to Rp 500,000.<\/p>\n
As the situation grows worse for parents and the students, the
\nMinister of National Education, Bambang Sudibyo, has warned that
\nthe department would fire administrators and teachers who imposed
\nexorbitant school fees and required students to buy books
\nthatwere not recommended by the government. "People have to be
\nproactive about reporting the recalcitrant schools and if the
\nreports are true, we will discipline them," claimed Bambang
\nduring a function in Surabaya on Thursday.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/parents-become-victims-of-school-textbook-competition-1447893297",
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