'I don't want my children to end up like me'

As more parents realize the importance of a good education, they are sending their children to the best schools in town or financing overseas educations for their sons and daughters. However, the costs involved mean that some parents can only dream about providing their children with the best education possible. The Jakarta Post talked to residents about the cost of education.

Waginem, 40, is a door-to-door vegetable seller in Pondok Bambu, East Jakarta. She lives in a rental house in the area with her husband:

I left my two children at my mother's house in Kulon Progo (Yogyakarta). My husband and I think that this is best for all of us, although sometimes I miss them so much I can't stand it.

By staying in the village, my children can go to school because I don't have to spend millions of rupiah for their admission fees, tuition fees and other necessities for their studies. If they were living here with us, I can't even imagine how much money I would have to pay to send them to school.

Sometimes, my children ask me when they can move to Jakarta with us. I always tell them that it's better for them to stay in the village and go to school than to move to Jakarta, where we couldn't afford the school fees.

I don't want my children to end up like me, a vegetable seller, or like their father, an ojek (motorcycle taxi) driver. I want them to be somebody, have a job where they make enough money to start their own families.

Ida, 36, is a minister. She lives in Sukamantri, Tangerang, with her two children. Her husband died three years ago:

My husband and I decided back then to register our children at a Catholic school because we believed that they offered a better education than state schools.

However, there is always a price to pay. The tuition fee was very high and we could not afford it. We had to meet with the principal to ask for a reduction in our children's tuition. We were lucky that the principal agreed to help us.

Since my husband died, it has been harder for me to pay the education fees. This year, my oldest son is going to junior high school. I don't believe that we will be able to get a reduction, so we will have to pay Rp 250,000 (US$27) in monthly tuition. Still, I'm lucky that my son was the top scorer on the admission test, so we got free admission.

I don't understand why education is becoming more expensive and harder these days ... schools are very business-oriented nowadays. I just hope that I will be able to send my children at least to high school. I may not be able to send them to university.

-- The Jakarta Post