High school fees give parents headaches

High school fees give parents headaches

Oyos Saroso H.N., The Jakarta Post, Bandarlampung

Astini (not her real name), 30, left the Way Dadi state
elementary school in a haste and feeling disappointed on
Wednesday morning because the money she had brought to register
her daughter to school turned out to be inadequate.

She had only brought with her Rp 100,000 (US$10.50), whereas
the school had fixed a fee of Rp 130,000 for registration; Rp
80,000 for textbooks and Rp 50,000 for uniforms.

Astini was confused because she previously read from the
newspaper that the Bandarlampung Education Office had issued a
circular letter requesting state schools to exempt parents or
guardians from paying registration fees.

She was all the more confused when she learned that the Rp
130,000 fee had not included the uniforms.

"I saved up the Rp 100,000 from my husband's earnings as a
pedicab driver for several days," said Astini.

Registration fees are more costly at the junior high school
level. A resident of Way Kandis, Tugino, 40, said that the
registration fee for his child who was promoted to the eighth
grade had reached Rp 350,000.

"I'm confused because I must also pay Rp 130,000 for my other
child's registration fee in elementary school. I have no job at
the moment due to the lull in the construction sector," said
Tugino.

Parents are also complaining about the obligatory registration
fee of Rp 144,000 for students promoted to the next grade at the
Bandarlampung No. 20 junior high school.

The matter has sparked protests from parents and they urged
the school to minimize the registration fee because most of them
come from the lower income bracket.

Nearly all state schools in Bandarlampung have determined high
registrations fees. The No. 2 Sukarame elementary school, for
instance had required such fees ranging from Rp 300,000 to Rp
500,000 per student.

"I was even scolded by a teacher for only paying Rp 400,000 of
the required Rp 500,000. I wonder whether the books and a sports
T-shirt cost that much," said a dejected parent.

Every elementary and junior high schools has the right to
determine their own sum of registration fee. However, the moment
a student or parent fills out forms for registration, they are
immediately required to buy a number of textbooks, sometimes
reaching hundreds of thousands of rupiah.

The mode of selling report cards has also been discovered at
the No. 2 Labuhandalam elementary school. First and fourth
graders are required to pay Rp 10,000 each for a report card,
whereas in fact reports cards have been provided by the Lampung
Education Office.

Principal of the No. 20 Bandarlampung junior high school,
Elida, said that her school had never required students to pay
registration fees.

"Parents have probably not taken the report cards to be signed
because they have not paid several dues during the past school
term," she said.

Head of the Sukarame district education office, Haryadi,
denied that there were various kinds of fees being collected in
his district. According to him, after checking the matter at the
No. 2 Wayjadi elementary school, the fees collection in fact was
not compulsory in nature.

Head of the Bandarlampung Education Office Zaini Nurman said
that his office had prohibited schools from collecting
registration fees.

Schools and teachers were also urged not to sell textbooks to
students.

However, in reality, textbooks are sold to students in almost
every school in Bandarlampung. Students are burdened to buy books
in the new school term, the moment they register themselves.

For instance, each student at the No. 2 Rawalaut elementary
school must buy seven kinds of textbooks at Rp 170,000. Students
in other elementary schools have to pay for books ranging from Rp
80,000 to Rp 100,000.