Wiranto promises to help secure Jakarta schools<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Military personnel will be deployed at selected
\nschools, which are prone to students brawls, to teach students
\nself-discipline, Greater Jakarta Military Commander Maj. Gen.
\nWiranto said yesterday.<\/p>\n
Wiranto said in an informal coffee morning discussion with a
\nnumber of senior high school principals that the presence of
\nmilitary personnel at posts built near such schools are badly
\nneeded.<\/p>\n
The plan to deploy military personnel at problem schools is in
\nresponse to a request from one of the school principals. The school
\nheads were invited by the newly-installed military baton commander
\nto discuss ways to resolve the chronic student brawls in the city.<\/p>\n
\"Monitoring the atmosphere at particular schools for too long a
\nperiod may lead to an unfavorable outcome in the future,\" he
\nwarned, adding that the presence of personnel would be limited.<\/p>\n
The students, who are expected to play a significant role in the
\nfuture development of the nation, may develop a lack of
\nresponsibility towards their own future if they are continuously
\nmonitored, the two-star general feared.<\/p>\n
\"I could deploy any number of personnel requested by the public,
\nbut is spying and suppressing the students every day a remedy?\" he
\nasked the teachers. \"Even I could not reconcile myself into
\naccepting such a method,\" he continued.<\/p>\n
The latest police data reveals that a total of 160 student brawls
\nwere recorded in 1994, with 10 students being killed, 79 wounded,
\n917 netted of which 795 were imprisoned, and at least 36 public
\nbuses damaged.<\/p>\n
Among school representatives attending the informal meeting with
\nWiranto yesterday were principals from STM Penerbangan and SMA
\nPurnama in South Jakarta, STM 12 and SMA 13 in North Jakarta, STM
\nPGRI 4 and STM Negeri I in Central Jakarta and SMA 78 in West
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
The data shows that students from the above schools have been
\ninvolved in several brawls, mostly with nearby schools. The brawls
\nmostly take place in the afternoon with some of the students
\ncarrying guns, iron buckled belts, sickles and other sharp weapons.<\/p>\n
During the discussion, the teachers informed Wiranto that the
\nbrawls stem from several factors such as gossip mongering, a lack
\nof public transport, the large number of students in certain
\nschools and the large number of students in a certain area.<\/p>\n
The headmaster from STM 12 in Tanjung Priok told Wiranto that her
\nstudents were frequently attacked by other groups of students on
\ntheir way home from school. Students of the school are forced to
\nget rides on the back of empty container trucks passing the area
\ndue to the shortage of public buses and other transport, she said.<\/p>\n
A participant from Central Jakarta asked Wiranto to urge school
\noperators not to build their schools in areas where there are
\nalready many schools.<\/p>\n
\"There's no guarantee of avoiding brawls in Central Jakarta if
\nthere are about 7,000 students from 19 schools in one location
\nwaiting for a limited number of buses,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He made the plea because there are businessmen intending to build
\nnew schools in the middle of the city as \"they believe that they
\ncan earn lots of money inside the city.\"<\/p>\n
In response to the request, Wiranto vowed to seriously explore
\nthe case. He will also ask the authorities to operate more buses in
\nthe crowded area to serve the students.<\/p>\n
\"But I know that this will not entirely solve the problems of
\nbrawling. The answer also depends on the students' willingness (to
\nstop brawling) with support from all of us,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Wiranto, therefore, hoped that all student organizations at the
\nschools would play an active role in helping their friends.<\/p>\n
During the meeting yesterday none of the participants discussed
\nthe alleged role of the students' parents, especially those who are
\nhigh-ranking officers, who always defend their children's actions.<\/p>\n
\"Student brawls will never be stopped as long as such parents,
\nwhose children often play a significant role in the fights, refuse
\nto help us discipline their delinquent children,\" a senior police
\nofficer said.(bsr)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/wiranto-promises-to-help-secure-jakarta-schools-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}