'Business always wins against education'

The legal dispute over a land swap deal dating back to 2000 between the government and developer PT Tata Disantara, owned by former manpower minister Abdul Latief, has yet to be resolved. The firm stance by the teachers, students and parents of the SMP 56 state junior high school against the deal has elicited various reactions. After the children being forced to study for three days in the school's parking lot, members of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) forced their way into the sealed school building on Thursday.

Esta, 21, is a student from a private university in West Jakarta. She lives in a boarding house nearby:

It is a classic story of education having to bow down to business interests in this country. If the teachers and students of SMP 56 win, then it will be a miracle.

But what annoys me is that PDI-P politicians acted violently to get the teachers and students back into the sealed school building. It reduces the sympathy we feel for their struggle, don't you agree?

However, regardless of the accusations that the case has been politicized, I think the city administration should side with the teachers and students. We all deserve access to education as is the objective of the central government. Businesspeople should participate in the campaign by helping to improve existing schools instead of establishing their own universities.

Juarsa, 33, an employee of a company on Jl. Proklamasi, Central Jakarta, lives in Kebayoran Lama district, South Jakarta:

I read about the case in the newspapers. I haven't been following it continuously, however. But the most important thing, I think, is that the students of the school must not become the victims. The learning process must not be disrupted by such a dispute.

I hope that all involved in the dispute can resolve the problem as soon as possible so that the students will be able to benefit from a normal education.

Outsiders, including politicians, must not seek benefit from the dispute. They must act in good faith to help seek a win-win solution for everyone involved, and not prevent the problem from becoming even more complicated.

-- The Jakarta Post