Give more than just money to foster students: Forum

JAKARTA (JP): Foster parents are being urged to pay more than just school fees, considering the foster students' other needs, including health care, books, stationary and transportation. They are also being urged to pay attention to students' academic and mental development rather than just providing them with money.

School fees at state elementary schools are Rp 7,000 a month, however, various "extras" are also expected from students. These include paying for a year-end picnic, scout activities and English lessons as well as other extracurricular activities, which could reach Rp 10,000 a month.

The call was made on Saturday by a nonprofit organization called the Forum of Housewives' Struggle.

The forum's scholarship committee chairman, Ninuk S., said, "Foster parents just pay the school fee to the principal, but they never know anything about the students."

"Such a lack of concern will not encourage these less- fortunate children to enjoy school and study harder," Ninuk said.

She added that the forum facilitates monthly meetings between students and foster parents.

On Saturday, the group symbolically handed over scholarships worth Rp 10 million to 100 students for one year. The beneficiaries are students of several elementary to high schools, mostly in Central Jakarta. Other schools are in Jelambar, West Jakarta, and in Cilincing, North Jakarta.

SDN 03 Cikini vice principal, Sutarmo, said elementary students get Rp 10,000 a month. A junior high school student said she was entitled to Rp 17,000 a month.

The funds were from Bank Indonesia and other sources.

Since 1996, the government has encouraged participation in foster parent programs, either through the official movement GN- OTA or through private means. Ministers of education in the past have said that ideally, foster parents should not only help with school fees but also pay attention to students' development and other needs.

Minimum donations to GN-OTA are suggested at Rp 60,000 per year for elementary students and Rp 90,000 per year for junior high students.

The forum, first set up in 1937, comprises some 300 descendants of women who were active during wartime, including those in public kitchens and hospitals. It aims to raise public awareness of the less fortunate in urban areas.

Since the crisis, the forum has also become involved in handing out scholarships. (07)