Choices galore in schools for Expat children

Sudibyo M. Wiradji, Contributor, Jakarta

International schools can be found almost everywhere these days. The indisputable quality of their programs have lured not only expatriate children, but locals as well. In this edition, the Focus Issue covers five pages -- 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 -- and takes a close look at the latest trends in schooling.

Naturally, many expatriates who are temporarily residing in Indonesia for work or professional reasons want the best schools for their children, whether preschools or high schools.

At present, there are more choices on hand with more and more quality international schools having been established, several of which are located outside the capital, such as in Bogor, Semarang in Central Java, Surabaya in East Java, and of course in Bali.

The schools have been set up either by embassies or independent educators in collaboration with private entrepreneurs.

Lance N. Kelly, the principal of the Bogor Expatriate School (BES), for instance, said that parents make the choice to live outside of Jakarta and "realize that a quality international education is available in Bogor".

Most international schools are known for the unquestionable quality of their educational programs, despite the different sizes and philosophies of the schools.

The size of the schools available varies from small ones like the Bogor Expatriate School to large ones like the long- established Jakarta International School (JIS) and the Gandhi Memorial International School (GMIS).

Other well known international schools with students coming from all different nationalities include the British International School, the Australia International School, the Singapore International School, Jayakarta Montessori, the Semarang International School and the six-year old Sekolah Tiara Bangsa.

There are also international schools that only accept students of a particular nationality, like the French School, or l' Ecole Internationale Francaise, the German School, or the Deutsch Internationale Schule, the Netherlands School, or the Nederlandse Internationale School, and the Japanese School.

Despite their being recognized as providing quality educational programs backed by highly trained teachers, the respective schools have their own unique and distinctive characters and environments. Academically, the curriculums are inseparable from the schools' missions, philosophies and objectives.

As international schools, they use English as the language of instruction, but several of the schools offer Indonesian programs taught in Bahasa Indonesia.

The GMIS, with students from nearly 40 different countries, for instance, follows the philosophy of tapping the creative talents of the children.

"The mission of the school is based on Mahatma Gandhi's philosophy, 'By education I mean the drawing out of the best in mind, body and soul of a child and man,'" GMIS principal Ashok Pal Singh said.

The school, which educates children from nursery school (three years old) to an IB Diploma (18 years old), follows the International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum from Switzerland.

"Students are prepared for an IB diploma in grades 11 and 12. From nursery school to grade 8 we are in the process of implementing the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program (PYP) and the Middle Years Program (MYP). While in grades 9 and 10, we have been very successfully implementing the International General Certificate of Secondary Examination (IGCSE) curriculum ('O' level) from the Cambridge University Local Examination Syndicate, UK," Singh said.

Lance Kelly, the principal of BES, emphasize that the foremost objective of the school is to develop in the children a love of learning and a positive attitude toward the concept of the "Lifelong Learner".

The British International School (BIS), established in 1973 and moved to its present spacious campus in 1994, follows the UK National Curriculum for children aged 3 to 16, after which children study the International Baccalaureate program.

"The curriculum is broad and balanced. Broad, so that it provides opportunities for children to experience a wide range of academic, sporting and cultural activities. Balanced, in that each area of curriculum is given sufficient emphasis," said BIS principal Peter Hoggins.

"The British International School considers that enabling children to become critical thinkers, able to research, analyze and articulate their views if of central importance," Hoggins added.

Jakarta International School, which celebrates its 50th anniversary next month, has also accepted Indonesians to study in the school, which at present has 2,575 students from 64 different countries and teachers come from 27 countries.

"Indonesian students are allowed to apply to JIS if they possess a letter of dispensation from the ministry of national education which is renewed annually, providing they meet the JIS admissions criteria," said Jean K. Vahey, the school's deputy head.

At JIS's elementary and middle school, the curriculum covers a broad range of topics from mathematics, language arts, social studies, science, health, Indonesian Studies, music, art, physical education, and information science (including technology).

"At the high school, we offer a variety of academic programs that prepare students for university," said Vahey.

The Sekolah Tiara Bangsa (STB), set up in 1996, is an independent fee-paying school officially licensed to operate as a National Plus School with permission to introduce an international curriculum. It currently has 203 students from several countries, including Indonesia, Korea, the U.S., India, Australia, Britain, Singapore, Sweden and the Philippines.

Elisabeth of the STB said the school emphasized the pursuit of high academic attainment within an environment that challenged students and staff to become vision-driven, life-long, independent, motivated learners and enterprising and effective leaders.

"This allows the school to add value to the national curriculum through the inclusion of an internationally recognized and highly regarded international curriculum with English as the language of instruction," she said.

"Our educational programs and curricula are based on the framework provided by the Primary Years Program of the International Baccalaureate Organization," she added.

With the growing number of affluent people in Jakarta, there has been an increase in the number of Indonesian parents interested in sending their children to international schools. The low quality of local schools is repeatedly cited as one of the reasons for this. By entering international schools, local students are expected to be able to face a more competitive and challenging world in the future.

Several of the international schools have responded to the growing demand from local parents. "We welcome enrollments from Indonesian families, and hope that this number grows in the future," BES principal Lance Kelly said, adding that Indonesian students must obtain a letter of approval from the education ministry before entering BES.

"If parents wish to enroll their children in grades 7 or 8, the procedure is the same as for the rest of the school. We would expect the family to produce evidence of academic progress from the last school, and a letter of permission from the Indonesian Ministry of Education," Kelly said

The British International School has over 800 students, with the majority coming from the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand, though there are students from over 40 different countries at the school.

"The British International School has been able to enroll Indonesian students, who now comprise 12 percent of the total school population," principal Hoggins said.

Singh of the Gandhi Memorial International School (GMIS) said that the Ministry of National Education of Indonesia had chosen GMIS to run a pilot project for Indonesian students to study the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program.

"With the new educational policy of allowing Indonesian students to study in international schools, we now have about 14 percent Indonesian students, many of whom have returned from Singapore, Australia, America, etc.," he said.

"We hope that with the new educational thinking and liberalization like in Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia, more Indonesians will be allowed to study in international schools," he added.

Each school has its own procedure for school enrollment, with school fees varying from school to school. For instance, the BIS charges US$12,350 per annum for secondary school (grades 7-13), with an application fee of US$100 and a Capital Levy Certificate (CLC) of US$10,000 (a four-year CLC).

The GMIS' admission fee for primary, middle school, secondary school and junior college/IB is US$3,000, with a school fee of US$1,740 per term, which runs six months.

The BES charges no enrollment fee. The tuition fee for grades 6 to 7 is US$7,700 per annum, with the Capital Levy of US$3,000 being charged on enrollment as a one-off payment. Annual tuition fees for grades 1 to 10 are US$5,500 and Rp 19,500,000, with an early-bird discount of 5 percent.