Spending school holidays in style<\/p>\n
With the month-long school holidays just around the corner,
\nmany students have been planning to make them unforgettable. But
\nmany poor families cannot afford to send their children on
\nholidays; these students will, as usual, stay home to help their
\nparents earn a living. The Jakarta Post's reporters Aloysius
\nUnditu, A. Junaidi, Christiani S.A. Tumelap, Cornelius Purba,
\nDeborah P. Hutauruk, Johannes Simbolon, K. Basrie and Lukman
\nNatanegara talked to students, parents, teachers and people from
\nall walks of life on how they would make the best of the
\nholidays. Related reports are on Page 3 and Page 3.<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Yusuf, 13, sat alone on a bench outside his
\nclassroom at the SMP 127 secondary school in West Jakarta.<\/p>\n
He watched his classmates discuss their plans to spend a week
\nof their month-long holiday in Bali. Organized by teachers, the
\ntrip will cost each student Rp 200,000 (US$82).<\/p>\n
For Yusuf, the youngest of three children, the trip is
\nimpossibly expensive. He knows too well that his mother, who
\nsurvives by renting out two rooms in their house, cannot afford
\nit.<\/p>\n
Perhaps that's why the first grader kept away from the
\ndiscussion.<\/p>\n
Is Yusuf sorry for himself?<\/p>\n
\"Not at all,\" he said. \"I know I'm not as rich as my friends.
\nMum has told me not to be jealous let alone feel sorry for
\nmyself,\" said Yusuf, whose father died five years ago.<\/p>\n
\"Listening to their stories once they get home will be enough
\nfor me,\" Yusuf added.<\/p>\n
So, he will spend his holidays at home with his 15-year-old
\nbrother and 17-year-old sister helping mum, watching television
\nand playing with neighbors like he has done ever since their
\nfather died.<\/p>\n
On the other extreme, children from wealthy families have many
\nways to spend their money and vacations.<\/p>\n
Inke Maris, a successful businesswoman in public relations,
\nsaid her three children would go to the United States, Australia
\nand Singapore.<\/p>\n
\"I left it up to them how and where they will go to have a
\ngood time. They will go abroad instead of going to Bali and
\nBandung,\" Inke said.<\/p>\n
For some wealthy students in the outer islands, spending
\nholidays in cities overseas is also popular.<\/p>\n
\"It's time for me to spend my savings on a new dress and go
\nwindow shopping in Jakarta and Singapore for weeks in this
\nholiday,\" said Herlina of the SMA 2 state senior high school in
\nEast Kalimantan's capital, Samarinda.<\/p>\n
School holidays would start on June 21 and end July 19 this
\nyear, said senior officer Hadis Hadiahnegara of Jakarta's
\nEducation Office.<\/p>\n
Arif Rachman, headmaster of the SMU 81 senior high school in
\nEast Jakarta and a noted Islamic preacher, encouraged his
\nstudents to spend their holidays productively.<\/p>\n
He criticized parents who kept their children at home because
\nthey thought that holidays meant students were free from their
\nacademic routines at school.<\/p>\n
He said parents should help their children use their days off
\nto \"learn about themselves\".<\/p>\n
\"Holidays are a time for students to introspect and reflect on
\ntheir life,\" said Arif.<\/p>\n
Blooming ads<\/p>\n
For travel agents, hotels and other businesses offering
\ntourism-related services, holidays are lucrative<\/p>\n
In Jakarta alone, there are 424,613 junior and senior high
\nschool students, and many more primary school and college
\nstudents.<\/p>\n
Many students from affluent families in other cities fly to
\nJakarta, Bali, Lombok and other well-advertised holiday spots to
\nspend time and money.<\/p>\n
As a result, there have been many more advertisements for
\ntravel and holiday services in local media in recent weeks.<\/p>\n
Operators of shopping centers, short vocational courses and
\nhotels have advertised and offered big discounts to attract
\nholidaymakers.<\/p>\n
Stunning discounts for popular tourist and shopping spots,
\nsuch as Singapore, Australia, Hong Kong and major cities in the
\nU.S. and Europe, have also filled the press with advertisements.<\/p>\n
The cost of holiday packages range from $150 to around $5,000.<\/p>\n
Operators of homestay programs, minor haj pilgrimages,
\nuniversities, religious courses, enrollment test courses and
\nother courses -- on subjects such as fashion, modeling,
\ncomputers, English and music -- have also advertised in many
\nlocal newspapers and magazines.<\/p>\n
Operators of hotels and recreation centers have already
\narranged \"special packages\" for students and their families.<\/p>\n
Even some government institutions have offered apprenticeship
\nprograms for students in the holidays.<\/p>\n
About 50,000 senior high school students in Jakarta are
\ninterested in apprenticeship programs and 37,000 students in
\nSurabaya are interested.<\/p>\n
\"The students will be sent to various state institutions and
\nprivate companies, such as Hero and Golden Truly supermarkets,\"
\nsaid Jakarta's Education Office spokesman Hadis Hadiahnegara.<\/p>\n
The students would get meals and transport allowances from the
\ncompanies and institutions, said Hadis.<\/p>\n
Some of them would help clean up the election campaign
\npamphlets, stickers and banners which could still be found around
\nJakarta, Hadis said.<\/p>\n
\"Many students like to join these programs, particularly to
\nimprove their skills and financially support their families,\"
\nHadis said.<\/p>\n
For many parents, holiday means spending more money.<\/p>\n
\"We had just bought him a computer before he suddenly asked
\nfor money for a week-long holiday trip with his friends to Pulau
\nSeribu off the Jakarta Bay,\" said Rizal, a civil servant, who was
\nreferring to his only son, Satrya, a second-grade senior high
\nschool student.<\/p>\n
\"Where can I get the money from because we also have to set
\naside quite a lot of money for his youngest sister who will
\nenroll at senior high school next month?\"<\/p>\n
Years ago, parents simply sent children to their grandparents
\nin ancestral villages. But today's students prefer other ways of
\nholidays.<\/p>\n
\"What we need today is to spend our school holidays in a more
\nentertaining way which will benefit our studies and future,\" she
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Moreover, Mimiek said, visiting her family in Padang, West
\nSumatra, was more expensive than having a good time in Singapore
\nor Australia.<\/p>\n
A three-day package to Singapore, dubbed a shopping mecca by
\nmost Indonesians, costs less than $200. It includes a return
\nticket and accommodation at a three-star hotel on the popular
\nOrchard Street.<\/p>\n
A one-way trip from Jakarta to Padang costs around $150.<\/p>\n
That is why many students of wealthy families prefer to spend
\nholidays overseas rather than in villages even though every
\nIndonesian-passport holder must pay Rp 250,000 fiscal tax to
\nleave the country.<\/p>\n
Consequently, the flocks of tourists to Singapore and
\nAustralia every school holidays are mostly Indonesian youngsters.<\/p>\n
But where do the less well-off students go on vacation?<\/p>\n
Like their mates in other cities, students in Jakarta normally
\ngo camping around nearby towns, window shopping or visiting
\nrecreation and educational sites where entrance fees fit their
\nbudget.<\/p>\n
Among the popular spots in the capital are Taman Mini
\nIndonesia Indah and Ragunan Zoo. Other, more expensive, places
\ninclude Ancol Dreamland, Taman Safari park in Cisarua, Mekarsari
\nfruit park in Bogor and the Bogor Botanical Garden.<\/p>\n
But Arie and his 10 classmates at a private Moslem senior high
\nschool in Tangerang have an attractive holiday schedule.<\/p>\n
\"We're planning to visit at least 30 public and private
\nmuseums in Jakarta this holiday,\" Arie said. (team)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/spending-school-holidays-in-style-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}