Student brawls, a warning against education system<\/p>\n
By Rita A. Widiadana<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The last school bell rings at 1 p.m. and the
\ncrimes will start soon.<\/p>\n
The end of school could become a nightmare for thousands of
\njunior and high school students in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
As soon as students step out of their school gates, they may
\nenter a \"war\" zone where enemies range from zealous students from
\nrival schools to drug dealers eagerly looking for new customers.<\/p>\n
It is between 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. when such crimes usually
\noccur.<\/p>\n
During these hours, parents can hardly breathe until they find
\nout their kids have made it safely home.<\/p>\n
Students, especially those enrolled in schools located in
\nareas prone to crime, including street brawls, may find their way
\nhome frightening.<\/p>\n
Ita, a student at SMA 34 high school in Pondok Labu, South
\nJakarta, related an unpleasant after-school experience she had.<\/p>\n
\"I was waiting for a bus with some other girls when suddenly a
\nlarge number of students attacked us and other people,\" Ita said.
\nShe did not know why she was attacked and could do nothing but
\nrun to save herself.<\/p>\n
Donny, a student at SMA 46 in Blok A, Kebayoran Baru, South
\nJakarta, is ready to face any attack.<\/p>\n
\"Our school doesn't have enemies, but we, the boys, are ready
\nto defend ourselves if other students approach us,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Donny added that minor disputes, including shouting matches at
\na bus stop, flirting with a girl and loosing a sporting
\ncompetition to a rival school, could cause warring students to
\nengage in continual brawls.<\/p>\n
In the past few months, the capital hardly has seen a single
\nday pass without at least one student brawl.<\/p>\n
In full-scale brawls involving dozens of students, stones and
\nbricks are not the only weapons the combatants employ. Many of
\nthem are fully armed with knives, sickles, metal chains, swords
\nand even guns.<\/p>\n
City police chief Maj. Gen. Noegroho Djajoesman said
\nthe students had taken their street brawls too far and there were
\nindications their actions had become criminal acts which
\nendangered the safety of innocent people.<\/p>\n
\"The police will no longer show them (brawling students)
\nmercy, but will begin to take stern measures against those caught
\nfighting in the streets,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Police statistics on student brawls paint a gruesome picture.<\/p>\n
In l998, Jakarta recorded a total of 230 street brawls with 15
\nfatalities and scores of students and bystanders seriously
\ninjured. In the same year, at least 1,550 students were caught
\nfrom an estimated 110 brawls. A number of students were brought
\nto court, while 68 are still being investigated.<\/p>\n
This year has shown no improvement. Student brawls have turned
\nto more serious crimes, including bus-hijackings, robberies and
\nmurders, targeting not only rival students but also other
\nparties, including bus drivers.<\/p>\n
During the first four months of l999, more than 20 students
\nwere killed in student brawls, including Joko Ariyanto, 17, a
\nstudent at STM Budi Mulia technical high school in Cakung, East
\nJakarta, who was stabbed by an angry resident.<\/p>\n
In Bogor, about 60 kilometers south of here, 14 technical high
\nschool students from Jakarta drowned in Cisadane River in an
\neffort to escape police arrest.<\/p>\n
Earlier this month, dozens of junior high school students,
\nstill wearing their blue and white school uniforms, assaulted a
\n21-year-old Metromini bus attendant, Solichin, who died on the
\nway to Al Kamal Hospital in Kedoya, West Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Their crime shocked people and shattered the community's sense
\nof security.<\/p>\n
The case has kindled a heated debate on the decline of morals
\nand family values among youth. People were startled that today's
\nyouth were capable of atrocious acts of mental and physical
\nviolence.<\/p>\n
\"I can't believe that these junior high school students were
\ninvolved in such a savage crime,\" Resmi Marpaung, a teacher at
\nSMA 34, said.<\/p>\n
Such disbelief was echoed around the country as people
\nstruggled to come to terms with what had happened. Many experts
\nvoiced fears the problem may be deep-rooted.<\/p>\n
\"This is a serious warning to us that there is something wrong
\nwith our society and our education system,\" Sartono Mukadis, a
\nnoted psychologist, said.<\/p>\n
Juvenile crimes, which have doubled this decade, usually are
\nconnected to after-school fights. Everyday teen problems become
\nworse during these after-school hours, he said.<\/p>\n
Previously, many believed the majority of all juvenile
\noffenders were from poor or broken homes.<\/p>\n
But the fact is that youths who commit violent crimes tend to
\ncome from middle and upper-class families.<\/p>\n
Youth crime also is rooted in a lack of guidance at home and
\nfrom the low self-esteem which comes from performing poorly at
\nschool.<\/p>\n
Marzuki, a teacher and counselor at SMA 34 high school, said
\nmany troubled students at his school had family problems.<\/p>\n
\"Yet, we cannot generalize that all unruly students come from
\nbad families. Some of them have understanding parents,\" Marzuki
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
But many of the troubled students do poorly at school. \"They
\ncan't keep up with other students and get picked on by their
\nteachers and friends,\" Marzuki said.<\/p>\n
In their isolation, boys seem to suffer from an erosion of
\nself-esteem. They respond by overcompensating. They make
\nthemselves respected by doing bad things to attract people's
\nattention, he said.<\/p>\n
Raida, a teacher at SMA 46 high school, however, defended the
\nstudents, saying it was not all their fault.<\/p>\n
\"We must see the problems from the children's points of view.
\nNot all the restless students are to be blamed for what they have
\ndone,\" Raida said.<\/p>\n
The government, the community, families and teachers are
\nresponsible for shaping their behavior. Many people regard high
\nschool students, especially those coming from technical schools,
\nas \"little criminals\" and troublemakers, she said.<\/p>\n
Public transportation drivers have always refused to take them
\ninto their vehicles, while the police have always chased them,
\nshe said.<\/p>\n
Can you imagine, she said, a student who lives in Ciledug has
\nto get up very early in the morning just to catch a bus to take
\nhim to his school in Blok M, around 30 km from his home.<\/p>\n
\"At the bus shelter, he only finds that all the drivers pass
\nhim by. This is very frustrating. Not to mention other pressures
\nfrom schools, peers and parents,\" she said.<\/p>\n
She believes the students' criminal acts are the culmination
\nof the continuous strain and stigma they face.<\/p>\n
Adam Malik, a teacher at Bunda Kandung technical high school
\nin Pasar Minggu, is upset many people label all technical high
\nschool students trouble makers.<\/p>\n
\"That is not fair. The trouble makers are just a minority
\ngroup. The others are good and polite students,\" Adam said.<\/p>\n
Despite efforts to involve students in constructive school and
\nextracurricular activities, he said teachers alone would not be
\nable to control their students' after-school activities.<\/p>\n
\"I suggest that all related parties, including parents, the
\npolice, teachers and the authorities, work together to deal with
\nstudents' problems,\" Adam said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/student-brawls-a-warning-against-education-system-1447893297",
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