500 poor students still unable to find high schools

JAKARTA (JP): The new school year starts this Monday, but some 500 junior high school graduates all over the capital have yet to be accepted in any school as their grades do not meet the minimum requirements for public schools.

The head of the city office of the Ministry of National Education Alwi Nurdin said that out of those students, some 300 had graduated from schools in East Jakarta while the rest were from South Jakarta.

"They were not accepted at public high schools as their grades are below the minimum requirements. But their parents can't afford to send them to private schools either," Alwi told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

As the result, he said, those students have yet to be accepted in any school.

According to Alwi, his office is now coordinating with mayoralty offices to find a solution for the students.

"We're looking for schools that can accommodate them," he said.

There are 115 public senior high schools all over the capital with various grade requirements.

The minimum total grade to be admitted into public high school last year was 29 for six subjects, or an average of 4.8 (out of the total score of 10) for every subject.

Many parents apparently still prefer that their children study at public schools, especially because the entrance fee and the monthly tuition is cheaper.

The entrance fee for private high schools is around Rp 3 million (about US$270) and the monthly tuition is around Rp 150,000. On top of that, they charge a registration fee to confirm student's enrollment at the schools.

Meanwhile, the entrance fee for public high school is around Rp 1.6 million with a monthly tuition fee of less than Rp 50,000. Unlike private schools, public high schools are not allowed to increase their charges, nor charge a registration fee.

However, some public high schools have reportedly still demanded that parents pay a registration fee for students to be accepted at their schools.

Earlier on Sunday, Alwi told Antara that he had issued warning letters to three principals of junior and senior high schools for charging registration fees.

Alwi also warned schools who traded extra seats, which reportedly could reach up to Rp 10 million for each seat.

Schools usually have extra seats as some students who have been accepted at public schools sometimes prefer to go to private schools or their parents are planning to move out of town.

Priority is supposed to be given to students who registered for a school but were not accepted as their grades were slightly lower than the minimum grades.

However, it was reported earlier that the seats were being traded by schools and also by Alwi's subordinates.

Alwi urged parents or others to inform him if they found that such a practice had occurred.

"We need complete information. Which school, who the person is and so on. Last year, we suspended three of our staff who were involved in such a case," he told the Post.

He added that three principals were dismissed last year for their involvement in such bribery cases.

According to Alwi, the city office had established the School Control Body (BPS) to monitor students' recruitment.

The body consists of 116 people with a ratio of one person assigned to monitor the recruitment process at three high schools, including the setting of the entrance fee.(hdn)