Helping our children

Helping our children

What does Rp 60,000, or US$26, buy nowadays? For most of us,
not much. Perhaps two new CD albums, a dinner for two at a
reasonably priced downtown restaurant, a night out on the town
with friends, or a new pair of trousers or jeans. But Rp 60,000
also buys someone tuition at a junior high school, a one-year
supply of school uniforms or a set of school books and utensils.

In fact, as Minister of Social Services Inten Soeweno pointed
out when she unveiled the government's plan for a new foster
parent drive on Monday, a total of six million children aged
between six and 15 years old do not attend school because their
parents cannot afford it. They certainly could use the Rp 60,000
to send them to school.

The new foster parents drive will be formally launched by
President Soeharto on May 29 in Semarang, Central Java, during
the commemoration of the national day for the elderly. There was
no official explanation as to why both events were scheduled
together. Yet -- whether by design or coincidence -- a personal
endorsement from the head of state will make this campaign a
truly national endeavor.

A similar official campaign was launched in 1984, only a few
months after the government began the compulsory education
program for children between six and 12 years old. The foster
parents drive was crucial behind the success of that program.
While the government was building new primary schools across the
country, there remained the problem that some parents were simply
too poor to send their children to school. This was where the
foster parents program came in. In fact, in less than 10 years,
the six-year compulsory education program had achieved an almost
100 percent success record. This gave the government the
confidence to extend compulsory education to nine years,
beginning in 1994.

The challenges facing the new extended version of compulsory
education are even more immense and complex. There are not enough
junior high schools to accommodate children between 12 and 15
years old. In addition, the government does not have the
financial means to build all the new school buildings or to put
more teachers on its payroll. It has turned its hope to private
schools for help filling in the gaps. Even then, the government
is facing the challenge that many parents cannot afford tuition
fees. To complicate matters, some parents stop sending their
children to school after elementary school in the belief that at
that age, children should begin helping their family on the farm
or earn a living.

It is no wonder that, given the complexity of the issue, the
government has set a modest target of 15 years for the nine-year
compulsory education to cover every child in the six to 15 years
age group. But with the help of the society's wealthier members
through the foster parents program, the government feels that the
target could be accomplished much quicker.

The government has taken on itself the task of running the
foster parents program. At a national level, it is easier to
match foster parents with foster children. One can be in Jakarta
and have a foster child in a far-away area such as Irian Jaya or
East Timor. Yet there are also private, mostly grass root
organizations running similar programs. In areas where these
private organizations are already operating, the government
should cooperate with them, given that they are familiar with the
area and the people.

It is now up to the rest of society to respond to the appeal.
Rp 60,000 a year may not seem a lot, but it can buy someone a
seat at school.