Free schools to be opened to support education
Free schools to be opened to support education
JAKARTA (JP): The Jakarta branch of the Ministry of Education
and Culture will launch five new open junior high schools next
month, the beginning of the 1995/1996 school year.
"Joining the open schools is free of charge," Subandio
Djojosuwito, head of General Secondary Education, said yesterday.
Subandio said that the introduction of the open schools is
intended mainly to enable students of poor families to get an
education.
The targets for these schools are students who are forced to
help their parents earn a living.
The introduction of the open schools was made in line with the
result of a pilot project sponsored by the Ministry of Education
and Culture in 1979, to back up the government's policy of nine
years compulsory education. Under the policy, all children
between the ages of seven and 16 years must finish their studies
in elementary and junior high school.
In Jakarta, the first open junior high school was introduced
in 1991 at Senen in Central Jakarta, followed by a second in 1992
at Koja in North Jakarta. In 1993, two more open schools were
launched, at Matraman in East Jakarta, and at Cengkareng in West
Jakarta.
The five new open schools will be located in Penjaringan in
West Jakarta, Tambora in West Jakarta, Kramat Jati in East
Jakarta and Mampang Prapatan and Kebayoran Lama in South Jakarta.
The open schools use the same curricula as that applied in
regular schools. Students must meet twice a week with their
teachers, who come from principal schools. Besides weekly
meetings with their teachers, students have to study with their
group under the guidance of a mentor. A study group consists of
10 to 20 students.
The Jakarta branch of the Ministry of Education and Culture
has chosen nine state, junior high schools to oversee the open
education activities. They are SMP 216 in Central Jakarta, SMP 45
and SMP 159 in West Jakarta, SMP 7 and SMP 20 in East Jakarta,
SMP 30 and SMP 261 in North Jakarta, and SMP 48 and SMP 141 in
South Jakarta.
All open schools in Jakarta have been open for the
registration of new students. Beside receiving elementary school
graduates, the schools also accept drop-out students. (29)