Al Izhar high school officially opened

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Education and Culture Wardiman Djojonegoro inaugurated the operation of privately-run Al Izhar high school at Pondok Labu, South Jakarta, on Saturday.

The high school, which is owned by the Anakku Foundation, has 30 air-conditioned classrooms capable of accommodating 360 students.

The school is equipped with laboratories for biology, physics, chemistry, language and computer.

Fauzia Aswin Hadis, chairperson of the Al Izhar school, told reporters after the inauguration ceremony that only qualified students will be accepted by the school.

"This year, for example, the high school selected only 80 students out of the 180 applicants intending to study here," she said.

She said that the entrance fee for the school is set at Rp 3 million (US$1,363) with a monthly fee of Rp 80,000.

Various lessons are provided by the school, including Koran reading course twice a week.

Talking about the quality of teachers, she said all the teachers are university's graduates.

Bustanil Arifin, chairman of the Anakku Foundation, told reporters it is important to give students religious education in addition to normal lessons. (05)