Expats welcome at Cilegon Int'l School
JAKARTA (JP): The new Cilegon International School in West Java, which will be opening this September, is almost filled up with applicants from children of expatriates in this industrial city.
Cosmas Batubara, chairman of Cilegon International School Foundation, said yesterday that there was a good response from the expatriates working in the area about the school.
Around 30 children have registered to join the school which will have an initial capacity of 50 students in its first year. The school will adopt the British education system.
"We have received a good response from expatriates and support from companies operating in Cilegon," he said, adding the school building was now 75 percent complete.
The school is expected to meet the demands of more than 700 expatriates working in local industries such as petrochemical factories and steel plants.
Most have been separated from their children because there was not a single international school in the area, which is quickly expanding industrial city. At present, many of the children have been sent to international schools in Jakarta.
The Cilegon school will comply with the regulations of the British Department of Education and offer classes for senior, primary and nursery students.
Cosmas explained that construction of the school would complement the construction of Bona City real estate which will house expatriates in the area, among other residents.
"The future of the Cilegon as an industrial estate is promising," he said.
Cosmas said that the school curriculum, which includes local subjects such as Bahasa Indonesia and playing the gamelan Javanese traditional instrument, is under formulation.
He said the school teachers will be of Indonesian and other nationalities, while those employed for administration work would be Indonesian.
The US$500,000 school complex fills a 1.1 hectare plot within the estate.
It is designed to accommodate 250 students between the ages of three and 17. The annual fees will range from $3,000 to $9,000. (par)