Good schools are rare

We arrived in Sunter, North Jakarta, in July last year. Our choice of schools was limited by distance. However, at the time a new school called Singa Kindergarten had opened in the area. The idea of having a school on the third floor of Plaza Metro Sunter Mall was strange, but then again anything is possible here.

As the name suggests, the school program is based on a Singapore model. A group from Singapore invited me to visit their school. I was introduced to the Singaporean teachers, not the local teachers or the local principal. We were shown the material and agreed the Singaporean model seemed like a good one. We agreed to enroll our three-year old son in the program so we signed and paid for one year of schooling. Our son began school in July. It didn't take us long to realize, however, that we had made a mistake.

In September, much to our surprise, the Singaporean staff left and the training period ended. At a parents' meeting, the principal from Singapore tried to reassure us that the teachers left in charge were competent and were familiar with the materials. But this was not the case. As soon as any problems arose, the local team was not able to solve any of them. At least they were a good intermediary between us and Singa Kindergarten in Singapore.

I'm not surprised that all the teachers, except one, has since resigned. We had good faith, but this was certainly not the educational program we wanted for our son. We stopped sending him to Singa Kindergarten in October. Although the situation of the school had changed dramatically and we had good reason for discontinuing the program, the school refused to refund our money for the unused terms.

Let this serve as a warning to other expatriates.

MATHILDE ALEXANDRE

Jakarta