'Govt money won't reach students'

'Govt money won't reach students'

The Jakarta administration is planning to provide free education
for all elementary and junior high school students by giving more
money to cover their operational expenses. The Jakarta Post
interviewed residents about their thoughts on the issue.

Kuswanto, 39, is a civil servant at a district office in South
Jakarta. He lives with his wife and children in Srengseng Sawah,
also in South Jakarta.

It is good news, I think no matter how small additional
government contributions to the education are, they always
benefit low-income families like ourselves. However, looking back
at our history, I doubt that the program can be free of
corruption.

As a civil servant, I have first-hand experiences on
corruption by schools. Besides, there are already many reports
that at least one school -- in this case its principal and
teachers -- keep for themselves money allocated for poor
students.

The government should be aware of these practices, and
establish a really independent body to monitor the disbursement
process.

Ibrahim, 41, is an employee of a tutorial agency in Tebet,
South Jakarta. He lives with his wife and children in Cibubur,
East Jakarta.

My office has cooperated with several schools in Jakarta to
help them upgrade their students' knowledge to be ready for final
exams. We charge them just Rp 30,000 per student but most
principals charge the students Rp 40,000 each. So, they take Rp
10,000 for themselves for each student taking the exams.

With these experiences, I do not believe that money from the
government can reach the students as principals or teachers will
embezzle the money. I believe that if the money were used for
school purposes, half of it must have gone to the principals'
pockets.

I think the government should take harsh actions against
principals or teachers that embezzle money so that others will
think twice about doing the same thing.
-- The Jakarta Post