Dismissed teachers open new school

JAKARTA: Dozens of teachers who were dismissed from Al-Azhar school in Kemang, South Jakarta, have set up a new school with the help of students' parents and donors.

The new school, located in Tanjung Barat, also in South Jakarta, has set much lower tuition fees.

Al-Azhar school in Kemang is run by the Syifa Budi Foundation.

The chairman of the foundation's trade union, Sukman, said Monday that the new school charges Rp 200,000 per month for each student and Rp 2.5 million for the initial entrance fee. He added that the entrance fee for Al-Azhar school in Kemang is Rp 13 million and school fees are set at Rp 2.5 million per month.

The foundation earlier this month dismissed 63 teachers and two administrative staff after they staged a protest to demand a salary increase.

Sukman said the foundation later called several teachers and asked them to teach again in the school in Kemang. Nine elementary school teachers and a junior high school teacher took up the offer, he said.

A teacher earlier claimed her basic monthly salary was Rp 200,000 at the Kemang school. --Antara