High school principal sacked after strikes
JAKARTA (JP): The principal of a state-owned high school in Central Jakarta has been sacked for administrative errors and overstepping his authority, actions which triggered a student strike in August.
Two teachers of SMU I, on Jl. Budi Utomo, will also be moved elsewhere for their involvement in the students' protest.
Kusnan Ismukanto, the head of the city office of the Ministry of Education and Culture, said yesterday that the investigation team appointed to check into the management of SMU I found unaccounted for expenditures of Rp 25 million (US$10,688), out of a reportedly missing sum of Rp 64 million.
"However the principal has admitted his fault and has returned all the money to us," Kusnan said yesterday. The administration of funds at the school "has to be corrected", he said.
The principal, Soedarno, was also found to have "acted beyond his authority" in the purchase of computers for the school. Students had also protested having to pay fees for computer classes which they said were made compulsory, instead of optional, by Soedarno.
Soedarno has been replaced temporarily by an executive of the supervision bureau of the city office of the education ministry.
Students at the school, which was formerly one of the most popular in the city, went on a two-day strike in August following written complaints from teachers about the principal's policies.
More than 30 teachers first reported a lack of transparency in the use of funds allocated to the school's cooperative and the Parents and Teachers Association in April.
Before the strike the Target tabloid also quoted anonymous sources who said the investigating team was allegedly bribed Rp 30 million by Soedarno. The principal is suing the newspaper for libel.
The investigation team, led by Satiyono of the ministry's inspectorate office, also found that two teachers, Irwan Muin and Endang Suhendar did not report the students' demonstration plans although they were aware of them.
"Irwan even gave recommendations in a meeting at a bus stop in front of the school," Kusnan said. As educators the teachers should have discouraged such plans, he said.
Earlier this week the students staged another strike against the plans to move the two teachers, who they said were their favorite teachers.
In response to whether the investigation team had sidestepped the issue of financial transparency by punishing the teachers, Kusnan said the protests were "beyond the bounds of acceptable student behavior." He cited their demands to remove not only the principal but also his deputy for unclear reasons.
"I would be happy if students protested because teachers arrived late or did not check their exams," he said.
Kusnan refused to comment on a number of other schools where students have staged strikes or on the issue of financial transparency.
"Problems should be settled without having to resort to students' strikes; I cannot let this continue as too many hours are being lost because of strikes," he said. (anr)