Four schools follow Gandhi's example

Four schools follow Gandhi's example

By Gedsiri Suhartono

JAKARTA (JP): There are four schools in Jakarta which use the
name of Mahatma Gandhi, who is considered by many a symbol of
non-violence.

To make sure the schools measure up to their namesake, the
vision of Ghandi, who was called mahatma, which means "the great
one", is also being used to underlay their mission of drawing out
the best in each person -- body, mind and soul.

The schools' administrators believe that education goes beyond
academic achievement. Equally important is conditioning students
to think positively about their world and their role as citizens
of the planet.

"We are giving our future, the children, the best. When it
comes to education, there is no compromise," said Pishu Sawlani,
an administrator at the Sekolah Gandhi Pasar Baru in Central
Jakarta.

The real challenge, according to A.P Singh, Gandhi Memorial
International School's principal, is bringing to life the virtues
and theories students encounter in their studies.

Through the years, the students of the schools have been
financially supporting the educations of less-privileged young
people.

The first of the four schools opened in 1947 in a modest
building at Jl. Pasar Baru Selatan 10 in the center of the city
with around 20 students. The school, founded by the Bombay
Merchants Association (BMA) was called the Gandhi Memorial
International School.

In 1966, the school was put under the auspices of the Indian
Embassy in line with Indonesian regulations on schools for
foreigners.

When Ram Gulumal, then principal of the school, heard of the
city administration's plan to appropriate 12 meters of the
compound for the street, Ram sent a request to the governor to
purchase a 10,000 square meter plot of land in Ancol, North
Jakarta in 1973.

The request was approved by Governor Ali Sadikin, at a 60 per
cent price cut, meaning only Rp 4,000 (US$1.3) per square meter,
considering that a school was being built.

The status of the plot of land on Jl. Pademangan sparked a
forgery lawsuit which led to headlines about collusion at the
Supreme Court.

Deputy Chief Justice Adi Andojo Soetjipto charged that there
was a Rp 1.4 billion bribe involved in the document fraud case
against Ram Gulumal, an Indian citizen.

Adi Andojo Soetjipto's reports of alleged collusion between
Ram Gulumal and the Supreme Court have led to his being
prohibited from speaking to public.

A new management was installed in 1992 when the status of the
school changed from that of an international school to that of a
private school. The Gandhi Memorial School in Pasar Baru then
promoted the image of new private local school which follows the
national curriculum. The international school is now located in
the Ancol school complex in North Jakarta.

The 10,000 square meter compound in Ancol now comprises an
international school called Gandhi Memorial School and a private
local school called Sekolah Gandhi Ancol.

The Bombay Merchant's Organization changed the name of the
original school to Gandhi Sevaloka in 1992 following a government
regulation on foreign organizations.

Schools administrators of both branches of Sekolah Gandhi in
Pasar Baru and Ancol said that most parents are interested in
enrolling their children at those schools because they offer an
intensive English curriculum meant to enhance the students'
confidence as global citizens in tune to the current of progress
and globalization.

"We are just a national school plus English, and we have to be
global-oriented if we wanted to progress at all," Pishu told The
Jakarta Post.

The four-story building in Pasar Baru has 12 classes ranging
from kindergarten to junior high school. In the next two to three
years, the school is considering expanding into high school.

Gandhi Ancol has offered senior high school classes for the
last two years. This new academic year will see the school's
first graduating class.

All classrooms at the Gandhi schools are air-conditioned. Only
30 students are assigned to a classroom, an attractive policy to
many Indonesians, considering that classrooms at state schools
have to accommodate 50 students.

School administrators say they want to give students the best
learning opportunity possible through a conducive environment and
sufficient teacher's attention.

"Our location in the middle of city on a busy street easily
distracts students' attention," Sawlani added.

The schools are equipped with two libraries, a computer and
science laboratories to assist students in their learning
process.

A small clinic is open during school hours in case of medical
emergencies, while four psychologists are employed to closely
monitor and assist students with developmental problems.

The international school complex in Ancol is a rectangular
four-story building with around 30 air-conditioned classrooms in
which some 900 students study.

The school follows the International Baccalaureate (IB)
curriculum, a preuniversity curriculum and examinations geared
for internationally mobile students. Taught in secondary schools
and recognized by leading universities around the world, the IB
program offers a diploma which has come to serve as a kind of
academic passport for those who obtain it.