City claims Melawai school amid legal uncertainty
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta
Although the Supreme Court is yet to determine the legal status of junior high school SMP 56 on Jl. Melawai, South Jakarta, the Jakarta administration took the liberty of shutting it down on Wednesday.
Teachers, students and parents have strongly opposed a land- swap deal made in 2000, which involved the school and property developer PT Tata Disantara.
As students of the school are still on holiday, the operation carried out by administration officials, proceeded without a hitch.
The school was guarded by several youths, who claimed to be alumni, but they were persuaded to leave the compound, as desks, chairs and other school property was removed.
The head of SMP 56 Melawai's board, Jonni R Elian, expressed outrage over the day's events.
"The operation is a reflection of the administration's arrogance in settling the dispute. I don't know where our children will study after this," Jonni told The Jakarta Post.
Late in the morning, Jonni led a rally in front of the Presidential Palace on Jl. Medan Merdeka Utara, demanding that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono intervene to solve the dispute.
He said that he would mobilize on Monday parents, students and teachers to protest the take-over.
Meanwhile, City Basic Education Agency head Sylviana Murni asserted that the take-over was conducted with the consent of Governor Sutiyoso.
"The move to vacate the building is in line with the governor's instruction that any action to take over the building should not disturb teaching activities at the school," Sylviana told the Post.
Sylviana said students had already suffered due to the dispute as the quality of their lessons had fallen below state standards.
"That's why we will run additional courses for the students so that they can catch up on what they've missed out on," she said.
The additional courses would be provided by the agency in cooperation with the National Commission for Child Protection (Komnas PA), she added.
Sylviana promised that her agency would help transfer the students to nearby schools for free.
"We will also exempt the students from paying school fees until they graduate from their new school," she said.
At least 96 students, both first graders and second graders, have been caught in the middle of a legal battle over the land-swap deal in 2000 between the ministry of national education and PT Tata Disantara, owned by former manpower minister Abdul Latief -- who also owns the Pasaraya Grande department store next door.
In the deal, PT Tata gave the government two properties in Jeruk Purut and another in Bintaro, both also in South Jakarta, in exchange for the Melawai premises.
Many of the school's parents, teachers and children -- backed by non-governmental organization Government Watch (Gowa), which is providing financial aid for the day-to-day operations of the school -- had alleged the deal smelled of corruption.
They insisted that the school remain open and refused offers for the students to attend Jeruk Purut school.