Elite private schools offer world-class education

Elite private schools offer world-class education

JAKARTA (JP): Spending a huge sum of money may mean nothing
for a number of well-off Indonesian parents who send their
children to study abroad.

However, now that the new academic year draws near, the
presence of national plus schools may make them think twice about
sending their children abroad for schooling.

While international schools here mostly admit students from
expatriate families, national plus schools offer alternatives for
those who are looking for education excellence at home.

These elite private schools offer a revised curriculum,
blending the best of the Indonesian national curriculum, and
curricula from Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Britain or the
United States.

In a bid to meet international standards, English is adopted
as the daily language during school hours.

Currently there are more than 100 schools in Indonesia
offering high standard education as well as a promising future.

To name a few; Pelita Harapan School (SPH), Tiara Bangsa
School (STB), Madania, Al Azhar, Global Jaya, Al Izhar Pondok
Labu School (PIAIPL), military-styled Taruna Nusantara,
Marsudirini, Pembangunan Jaya, St. Laurensia and PSKD Mandiri in
and around Jakarta and Cita Hati Christian School in Surabaya are
listed among the national plus schools.

"We believe that our children will receive the best from this
school in return for the school fees we have spent. What does
money mean, compared to brains and intelligence the school is
offering," says a father who sends his sons to Pelita Harapan
School in Karawaci, Tangerang.

He said he expected his children could easily adapt to
overseas university if they continue study abroad.

Boasting international standards to produce bilingual and
critical students -- which most local schools cannot afford to
provide, the elite schools compete with each other in attracting
students.

"We view education as a whole which is far from business-
minded prejudice so that we are not worried about competition at
all," Darrell Van Luchene, deputy headmaster of Pelita Harapan
School said recently.

Similarly, technical advisor of Tiara Bangsa Barbara Nichols
told The Jakarta Post in an interview that the school applies a
mission in line with the United Nations Education and Culture
Organization-sanctioned four principles: learning to think,
learning to do, learning to be and learning to live together with
others.

Like Pelita Harapan, Tunas Bangsa, which is located in
Raflesia Hill real estate in Cibubur, East Jakarta, employs
selected teachers from around the world to work together with
their Indonesian counterparts in teaching their 250 students.

STB, which was established by businessman Mucki Tan in 1996,
became the first school in Indonesia to deliver the International
Baccalaureate (IBO) in English to its 200 students from
kindergarten to grade 10.

IBO is a foundation in Switzerland that grew out of
international efforts as early as 1924 to establish a common
curriculum and university entry credentials for geographically
mobile students.

SPH, established in 1993 has about 1,400 students from
prekindergarten to senior high schools, who are scattered in four
campuses across Greater Jakarta. It also provides programs for
IBO diploma for its senior high school graduates who want to
study abroad.

PIAIPL in Pondok Labu, South Jakarta offers an Islamic
atmosphere for its students, apart from international-standard
curriculum.

"Although we employ no expatriates and apply national
curriculum, we use blended methods adopted from Japan and other
countries," coordinator of PIAIPL academic advisor Henny Supolo
Sitepu told the Post.

Situated on a spacious and green grounds, the school provides
a vast range of facilities.

"I left the best state senior high school in Jakarta and
choose this school because of its facilities. Teachers are only
facilitators who help students develop their creativity," Lira, a
grade two student at PIAIPL, said.

Fees at SPH ranges between US$1,500 and $7,000 with fixed
rates per academic year for each student while Tiara Bangsa
imposes between $1,050 and $5,500, including entrance fee. Fees
at PIAIPL are much lower. Students pay monthly tuition which
ranges from Rp 230,000 to Rp 250,000. The entrance fee is Rp
7,500,000 per student. (01)