Parents complain about increase in Serpong school admission fees<\/p>\n
Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Tangerang<\/p>\n
Dozens of school-aged children in Rawa Buntu village in Serpong,
\nTangerang will not get an education this year as the nearby state
\nelementary school raised its admission fees from between Rp
\n350,000 last year to Rp 2.35 million in 2005.<\/p>\n
The school, Karya Bakti elementary, defended the decision,
\nsaying that the money was needed to construct three new
\nclassrooms.<\/p>\n
Local villagers wanting to enroll their children at the school
\ncomplained that the new admission fee was too expensive for them,
\nmost of whom are small farmers.<\/p>\n
Rizal Siradj, 36, who registered his son with the school
\nearlier this week, for example, said he would never be able to
\nafford the fee.<\/p>\n
\"I think many other parents will also oppose such an expensive
\nadmission fee because they are not rich,\" he told The Jakarta
\nPost.<\/p>\n
Another parent, Fauzi Ommy, 39, said he was shocked when told
\nthat the school was making parents pay Rp 2.35 million.<\/p>\n
\"I thought it was just a joke and I did not take it seriously.
\nI realized that it was not a joke when parents complained about
\nthe high fee,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Last year, according to Fauzi, the school charged admission
\nfees of between Rp 350,000 and Rp 750,000, depending on the
\nfinancial condition of the parents.<\/p>\n
Other state schools in Tangerang charge between Rp 250,000 and
\nRp 500,000.<\/p>\n
Samilah, who also registered her daughter at the school, said
\nthat if she could not pay the required amount, her daughter would
\nnot be able to attend school.<\/p>\n
\"What makes state schools different from elite private schools
\nif the admission fee is supposed to be much lower,\" she
\nexclaimed.<\/p>\n
Abdullah, the secretary of the School Committee said, however,
\nthat the parents could pay the fee in installments.<\/p>\n
\"We don't oblige parents to pay for the admission fee all at
\nonce, they can pay in stages. If they want their children to
\nstudy at this school, they must pay the fee,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said that the figure was decided upon in a meeting held by
\nthe school committee last Saturday.<\/p>\n
According to Abdullah, the school needed a total of Rp 306
\nmillion to build three new classrooms and renovate three old
\nclass rooms.<\/p>\n
\"The admission fee covers the developmental donation, school
\nuniforms, a batik shirt, books for one semester and other school
\nneeds,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He added that the school had repeatedly requested additional
\nclassrooms and the renovation of damaged buildings from the
\nregency administration, but there had been no response.<\/p>\n
\"We cannot wait until the building collapses and kills
\nstudents inside,\" he stressed.<\/p>\n
Muhyi Syarifudin, head of the regency education agency, said
\nthe administration did not determine a fixed standard for school
\nadmission fees, as they allowed the school committees to do that,
\nsince each school has its own committee comprising student's
\nparents.<\/p>\n
He added that the administration was incapable of repairing or
\nupgrading the estimated 700 rundown schools across the regency,
\nso his office could not prevent schools from raising cash for
\nrenovation work or additional rooms.<\/p>\n
\"However, it does not mean that we are not listening to
\nparents' complaints. We will accommodate them and try to find a
\nwin-win solution,\" he pledged.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/parents-complain-about-increase-in-serpong-school-admission-fees-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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