Gandhi land swap upset residents

M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Hundreds of people, including women and schoolchildren, took to the streets of Ancol, North Jakarta, on Wednesday to protest a plan by the Gandhi Memorial International School's (GMIS) to take possession of two state elementary schools and in return build a replacement school elsewhere.

The protesters, who claimed to be residents of five community units (RW) in Ancol subdistrict, demanded that the land-swap plan be aborted because it would leave children in the area with no low-cost schooling.

On Feb. 24, based on a request of the GMIS management, Pademangan district head A. Maddusil recommended the North Jakarta city administration approve a plan by the international school to acquire the building of SD 01 and SD 02 Pademangan under the scheme of a land-swap deal.

According to the recommendation, a new school building will be constructed at a new location in exchange for the land.

"If the schools are taken over, where will my children attend classes? This is the only school that charges low fees," said Warni, a mother of a third grader in SD 01.

She claimed that the new school would be located far away from the neighborhood.

"The new school will likely be constructed on a bustling street, which is very dangerous for children," she said.

The protesters were also infuriated that, in a bid to persuade the city administration to approve the plan, the district head gave false information about the two state schools.

"In the recommendation, Madussil stated that the number of students at SD 01 and SD 02 was decreasing, but in fact both schools are so crowded that the school management holds classes in two shifts," A. Dahlan, a member of Pademangan subdistrict council, told reporters.

About 750 pupils attend the schools, which stand on a 4,500- meter plot. It abuts a soccer field owned by GMIS.

He also doubted that a new school would be built, saying that the land had not been designated and therefore did not exist.

Separately, the chairman of GMIS, Suresh G. Vaswani, said the local residents were overreacting to the planned land swap.

"If the plan is materialized, we will provide the local residents with a new school building that is close to their houses," he told The Jakarta Post.

He said that the approval for the takeover was fully in the hands of the city administration.