Education for all remains a distant dream in Indonesia

Education for all remains a distant dream in Indonesia

By Rita A. Widiadana and Irene Sugiharto

JAKARTA (JP): The 1999/2000 academic year began on July 19.
Thousands of new students have eagerly been at their studies
since three weeks ago.

But for 10-year-old Daruri, a street kid at Kramat Jati
market, East Jakarta, there will be no school days.

"I have to work on the street selling newspapers. I wonder
when I can wear that red and white uniform, like them?" he
sighed.

In 1997, Daruri had to quit school because his father, a
construction worker, could no longer support his education. His
father, like thousands of low-paid laborers and workers, has been
out of work since the crisis started two years ago.

His father, Achmad, saw a ray of hope for his son when he saw
television ads for the government's preregistration and Aku Anak
Sekolah (I am a Student) programs, a joint campaign by the
government and the United Nations Emergency Fund (Unicef)
allowing poor school-age children and dropouts to resume their
schooling.

He rushed to several nearby public schools to enroll his son.
What happened then was very disappointing. The teachers and
school principals refused to register Daruri, explaining that
they were not yet informed by the Ministry of Education and
Culture local office to accept poor children and dropouts.

"All those ads on TV are just beautiful pictures which give
illusive hope to poor parents like us," Achmad complained.

Although he was very disappointed he said it was a blessing in
disguise.

"The registration is probably free but we don't have any money
to buy school books, uniforms or a pair of black shoes as
required by the school's regulation," added Achmad.

For the time being, he cannot do anything but let his son
continue his job on the street.

Marni, 49, a vegetable vendor at Mayestik Market in Kebayoran
Baru, South Jakarta, has another sad story.

When she went to register her 12-year-old daughter at a public
junior high school near the market, she was startled.

"I was asked to pay hundreds of thousands rupiah as an
admission fee plus an additional donation for the school. How can
a vendor like me pay such a huge amount?" she complained.

What she knew was that the government has already exempted
poor students from paying extra money except registration fees,
stated at Rp 3,500 for junior high school and Rp 4,000 for senior
high school. Elementary school enrollments at public schools are
free.

Minister of Education and Culture Juwono Sudarsono has assured
parents that during the current crisis, they are not obligated to
make extra payments for such things as buying textbooks, new
uniforms and donations required by school managements as well as
parents' organizations.

"Yet, it seems there is no public school which implements the
government's regulations. There is a wide difference between the
written word and the reality in the field. It is confusing and
frustrating," she said.

Inconsistent

Achmad and Marni represent hundreds of thousands disadvantaged
parents who are disappointed by unclear government regulations on
school enrollments for this year's academic period.

There are still many violations occurring in schools around
Jakarta and other cities as well.

In certain schools, particularly favorite public junior high
schools and senior high schools, parents are required to pay
donations for building maintenance, extracurricular activities
and additional programs.

Nani, a cook, said that one of her four children had just
entered a public junior high school in Bekasi. The enrollment fee
is Rp 15,000, which is the same amount as the monthly tuition
fee.

"But I had to pay Rp 200,000 for additional administration
fees, which are supposedly for building maintenance plus other
things.

"On top of that, I still had to spend Rp 135,000 for my
daughter's school uniforms," she said.

It is common here for students to be required to buy their
uniforms from their school to ensure they all wear exactly the
same thing.

Unfortunately, the price is not uniform. While Nani has to pay
Rp 135,000 for her daughter's school uniform, another mother,
Lina, has to pay Rp 205,000 for the uniform of her son. In
addition, she still has to pay another Rp 50,000, which includes
the first month's tuition fee, computer fee, student card fee and
compulsory fees for extra curricular activities.

Alwi Nurdin, head of the Ministry of Education and Culture
Jakarta office, showed his teeth.

Last year, about 10 school principals were dismissed and 50
others received very strong warnings for violating the
regulation.

The Indonesian Consumers Foundation's outgoing chairwoman,
Tini Hadad, said earlier that violations of school enrollment
programs reflect the country's chaotic education system and
incoherent policies.

Imposing strong punishment against teachers and school
principals will not solve the core problem.

The welfare of teachers and physical conditions of local
schools, especially public schools, are dismaying. "The
registration period has been used by them to collect extra money
for improving teachers' conditions and repairing old buildings,"
she said.

If the government wants to eradicate violations, it must first
provided teachers' basic needs and improve school facilities.

Lies, a mother of two, added she does not mind paying extra
for improving the facilities of her son's new school, SMP 47, a
state junior high school in East Jakarta.

Compared to parents who send their children to private
schools, she paid very little. "My son is allowed to borrow books
from the school and I paid only Rp 15,000 extra for a computer
course."

Tini added that so far, only rich parents could pay for
quality education in Indonesia. The vast majority of the
population can hardly get a basic education, let alone one of
quality.

Minister Juwono admitted that the government must work harder
to improve education infrastructure -- software and hardware.

"For the time being, we cannot rely on the government's state
budget for education, which is quite low (7 percent of the state
budget)," the minister said.

The ministry must manage Rp 5.5 trillion in funds to finance
the operation of 500,000 public schools and 51 state universities
and high institutions across the country's 27 provinces.

"I am asking for active participation from individuals,
private institutions and other parties to implement education
activities," Juwono said.

In the present crisis, he said, the government is focusing on
helping poor students and is implementing programs to reduce
dropouts and to maintain school attendance levels.

Efforts to help disadvantaged students, especially during the
crisis, are carried out by the government with the help of
various local and international donor institutions.

The government, for instance, has allocated Rp 6 billion in
funds to carry out a preregistration program for elementary
school students in the l999/2000 academic year, in addition to a
Rp 1.7 trillion social safety net fund for education and other
funds from international agencies.

"But, we made a mistake by announcing the program during the
school holidays. As a result, not many people were aware of the
program," Juwono admitted.

He also said that the government has provided Rp 6 billion in
funds for 30,000 high school graduates from poor families who
wanted to enter state universities.

"There are still loopholes and obstacles that continue to
hamper the implementation of the above programs, yet we have to
continue them, otherwise Indonesia will have no chance of having
qualified human resources," he said.