9-day school holiday during MPR sessions
9-day school holiday during MPR sessions
JAKARTA (JP): The city office of the Ministry of Education and
Culture has granted private and public, elementary, junior and
senior high school students a nine-day vacation, which coincides
with the General Session of the People's Consultative Assembly
(MPR).
Hadis Hadianegara, the office spokesman, told The Jakarta Post
Wednesday that the holiday would comprise the mid-term holiday
from March 2 to March 7 and a special break from March 9 to March
11.
The MPR General Session runs from March 1 to March 11.
According to the education calender, March 9 is supposed to be
the day for picking up report cards. But due to the special
holiday, reports will be handed out on March 12.
"The nine-day holiday is based on a revision of the education
calender. We planned for it by taking into consideration the
holiday for last year's 19th SEA Games."
He said the special holiday was also intended to ensure the
success of the sessions.
The official holiday notification is stated in the office's
letter No. 06/I0I.A1/LL/98.
In a related development, the office also issued another
official letter, No.05/I01.A1/KU/98, stating the payment of
February and March school fees would not be combined, but instead
be paid as usual before the 10th of every month.
The notification was issued because some schools have forced
parents to pay double the tuition due to the holiday, Hadis said.
"Asking for payment of fees a month ahead will certainly
burden the parents. Therefore we have officially told the schools
to stop that kind of action."
A parent, Anna Trihastuti, told the Post the school her nine-
year-old daughter attended had asked parents to pay two months of
tuition fees.
"Besides that, they also asked us to pay fees for BP3 (the
education assistance board) a month in advance.
"This certainly is hard for us. We're not going to run away
from our obligation ... so why do they speed up the schedule for
the tuition payment only because the payment dates coincide with
the holiday?"
Anna has to pay Rp 50,000 per month plus the Rp 12,500 BP3 fee
for her daughter.
"Parents usually have a certain budget every month. If we have
to pay double, it means finding extra money," she said.
When asked whether the vacation would disturb the students'
class schedules, Hadis said his office had formally notified
schools in Jakarta about the holiday and assured them that it
should not necessarily disrupt learning activities.
"Most of the school activities have been rescheduled to
anticipate any learning disruptions.
"Students are urged to spend their holiday in an internship
program or sports activity."
Hadis admitted that his office was encountering difficulties
in arranging the internship program as 60 private companies --
which were scheduled to accept the students -- eventually backed
out of the program due to the monetary crisis.
"All of the companies said there was not enough in their
budget to set aside money for the program. As you know, the
companies usually paid some kind of fees for the students."
He said the office was still looking for interested companies
to hire the pupils during the holiday.
"I understand that now is a difficult time. But we have to
keep looking for outlets for our children's activities. We don't
want them to end up doing outrageous things, especially during
such a critical time as the General Session."
An alternative for students is to participate in sport or art
activities, he said.
"But it is also has to be done by the book. No mass
gatherings, which have the potential to create social unrest,
would be allowed in this condition." (edt)