City offers carrot to SMP 56 students, protest continues
Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Students remaining at the disputed SMP 56 junior high school in South Jakarta could re-register at other city-run schools for free as they could no longer return to their old classrooms on Monday, the Jakarta administration said on Saturday.
The announcement followed a move by city officials to seal the compound and remove furniture and other property from the school buildings on Wednesday.
The administration promised free tuition to the students if they agreed not to continue studying at the Melawai school.
"We will accommodate all of the students ... They can go to any city-run junior high school for free," City Basic Education Agency head Sylviana Murni said on Saturday.
Ninety-five students had remained at the school to protest a land swap deal made by the education ministry and a local businessman. However government officials say as the legal dispute between parents, teachers and the government had not ended and the school remained illegal.
Meanwhile, teachers and parents at Melawai school said they could not accept its closure, which had taken place while students were on their Idul Fitri holidays.
"We will report Governor Sutiyoso to the City Council. He must be held responsible for his arrogant action of clearing the school when no one was there," Lambok Gultom, the lawyer representing teachers and students, told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.
He slammed the administration for taking action before the Supreme Court had determined the legal status of the school, which is in an area being developed into a business district.
School committee chairman Jonni R. Elian said on Saturday none of the officials had contacted parents about the free tuition.
"How can we believe that they will accommodate our children? I don't think they are serious," he said.
The dispute started in 2000 when the Ministry of Education and PT Tata Disantara -- owned by former manpower minister Abdul Latief -- signed a land swap deal.
In the deal, PT Tata gave the government a property in Jeruk Purut and another in Bintaro, both in South Jakarta, in exchange for the Melawai premises, which was built in the 1930s.
Gultom said some of the teachers and parents had refused to move to the new Jeruk Purut school as they suspected corruption in the deal.
He said the property tax valuation of the land, which should have been valued at Rp 9.65 million (US$1,072) per square meter in 2000, was only valued at Rp 5 million per square meter by PT Tata.
Meanwhile, Commission for Child Protection chairman Seto Mulyadi called for all parties involved in the dispute to quickly negotiate a deal so that the students would not become victims of the conflict.
"The students' education should be put first. They must get good and recognized training," he said
Seto said he was neutral in the dispute but would support any probe against possible corrupt practices involving the controversial land swap.