'City shouldn't be allowed to sell schools'
The legal dispute over a land swap deal involving the SMP 56 state junior high school and property developer PT Tata Disantara has yet to be resolved. The determined stance by the school's teachers, students and parents in the face of prosecution by the Jakarta administration for engaging in "unlicensed education" has elicited various reactions. The Jakarta Post asked some people for their opinions on the case.
Andrea Tobing, 34, is a pre-school teacher. She lives with her parents in Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta:
I don't know much about the issue, but I think no one should be prosecuted for providing education, especially not this teacher, Nurlela, who is said to be a very experienced teacher.
Although the building is owned by the city administration, who can therefore demolish it or change its use to other purposes, I think the school community, including the teachers, students and the parents, have the right to be involved in the decision-making process.
Furthermore, I think there should be a law forbidding the government from selling or bartering property designated for educational purposes to businesspeople.
I see a trend of relocating to the suburbs those schools that are located in strategic commercial areas. Maybe it's a good idea because most young parents now actually live in the suburbs. But force should not be used to relocate the schools as the Jakarta administration has been doing.
Lisa G., 30, works for a financial services firm in the Jakarta Stock Exchange building on Jl. Jend. Sudirman, South Jakarta. She has one child and lives with her family in Rawabunga, Jatinegara, East Jakarta:
I think this dispute, which has led to students being dragged into the thick of things, is clearly intolerable. Those who have power, like businessmen, the city administration and the political parties, must stop sacrificing students so as to further their own interests.
I would call on the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), which has being doing its best to garner the support of the public by stepping into the dispute, to stop taking advantage of this issue.
I also have a few questions for Abdul Latief, the businessman who owns the property developer. Why doesn't he look for another location for his business college? Doesn't he have lots of money?
--The Jakarta Post