Falling school enrollment puzzle Yogya

Singgir Kartana, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta

In the 1970s and 1980s, elementary schools began to spring up in the city. Yogyakarta, known as the "city of students" in recognition as its position as a center of education, saw new schools being built in every regency.

Now things have reached a turning point. Many of the schools built as a show of then president Soeharto's commitment to education, have had to close down or merge because there are not enough children to fill them.

Many people attribute the declining number of pupils each year to the success of the state-sponsored family planning program.

Over the last two years, more than 138 primary schools in Yogyakarta province have been running low on students. The local government has adopted a policy of regrouping or merging the schools in those areas where the number of school-age children has dwindled.

Bantul regency holds the record for regrouping, with 107 schools being merged into 50. In Sleman regency and Yogya municipality, 38 schools have been reduced to 19, including the closure of three schools which had less than 20 pupils.

In 2000, Gunungkidul regency's 38 primary schools were merged into 18, which was followed by the merger of 10 other schools into five in 2001. There is no available data on school attendance or mergers in Kulonprogo regency.

Interestingly, the elementary school in Wonolagi village in Playen, Gunungkidul, currently has only six students, comprising two sixth graders, one fifth grader, one fourth grader and two first graders. Despite the small number of students, the school has not been closed because it is the only one in Wonolagi village.

"Wonolagi would otherwise have no more schools," Sulistiyono, the head of the pedagogy section at Gunungkidul's education office, told The Jakarta Post.

Different criteria are applied to the merger of meagerly attended schools, according to the regency concerned. In Gunungkidul, for example, schools are merged if their students number less than 100 each, while in Bantul the minimum number of students is set at 150.

"The regent has ruled that if schools within one kilometer of each other have less than 150 pupils each, they must be merged," explained Tenang Ngatini, the principal of the Mandingmas I elementary school in Bantul, which has been merged with two other schools.

Yogyakarta's elementary schools will likely continue to decrease in number over the next few years. Particularly those in Sleman, where there are already plans for more schools to be regrouped next year.

"Some 42 schools have been proposed for merger," said Kuncoro, a staff member of the regency's primary education office.

Quality factor

However, some people do not believe that this situation is the result of the state's family planning program. They believe that the emergence of private elementary schools, which are seen as offering better-quality educations for their students than state- run schools, has had a hand in the dearth of students at state schools.

And the rivalry between private and state elementary schools is heating up. The Islamic elementary school Muhammadiyah I Sumbermulyo, for example, is located near another private school, the Catholic Kanisius Ganjuran, and the state-run Kaligondang and Sumbermulyo II schools.

Of these four elementary schools, Sumbermulyo II is in the direst condition. It will close down next year because it has fewer than 50 students. The other three will survive because they each have over 150 students. In fact, Muhammadiyah I has for the last three years rejected new students because its classrooms are already full.

"Regardless of the status or location of a school, as long as it provides a quality education parents will be interested in sending their children there," commented Suparsih, a teacher at the Pertiwi 50 kindergarten in Bambanglipuro, Bantul.

Meanwhile, the policy of merging schools eventually will create problems regarding the assignment of teachers and the arrangement of the assets of merged schools. For the moment, when schools are merged all of the teachers from the schools involved are employed at the main school into which the others were merged. The furniture from the closed schools is moved to the main school, and classrooms that are no longer occupied are turned into libraries.

"Assets located a long way from main schools or merged ones will be put under the care of relevant regents. Any party wishing to use these assets must seek a permit from the regents through the local education offices," said Sulistiyono.

It is hoped that the assets of closed schools will not open an opportunity for corruption by officials. But more importantly, the policy of merging schools must ensure effective teaching and efficient spending on the part of the school system, in order to enhance the quality of education for our children.