International schools to reopen

International schools to reopen

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

After being closed for almost two weeks due to security reasons,
the Australian International School, the British International
School (BIS) and Jakarta International School (JIS) will reopen
on Thursday.

"BIS will be open for all students, tomorrow, Thursday, 28
November. The decision to reopen has been made with the support
of the British Embassy and security organizations," the
principal, Peter Hoggins, said Wednesday on the school's website.

The decision was made following an open meeting attended by
over 300 parents on Tuesday night. Richard Gozney, the British
Ambassador, was himself among those present to answer questions
regarding security at the British school.

JIS also held a similar meeting on Tuesday evening, attended
by over 800 parents, and decided to reopen on Thursday as
security at the school had been upgraded significantly.

According to information available on its website, JIS had a
combined force of nearly 60 officers from the police, including
the police mobile brigade (Brimob), to protect the school's
students and facilities around the clock, for as long as the
threat persists.

According to Headmaster of JIS, Dr. Niall Nelson, "We have
been pleased with the response of the Indonesian police and
government authorities to our security concerns. The decision to
reopen was taken after consultation with embassy and private
security consultants, and with the concurrence of members of our
governing bodies, including representatives of the American,
Australian and British ambassadors."

The Australian school will also reopen as they believed that
the security conditions continued to improve.

"We will reopen on Thursday because we have had a lot of
support from the Indonesian police," head of the Australian
school, Penny Robertson, told Reuters.

She said the police presence at her school's two Jakarta
campuses had been doubled and surveillance increased, with
officers patrolling 24 hours.

"I think parents should feel confident about sending their
children back to school given the measures that have been taken,"
she said.

Activities at the three international schools had been halted
since Nov. 15, following a security advisory issued by the
Australian Embassy nearly five weeks after the Bali bombings that
killed almost 200 people.

The advisory was based on "credible" information received by
the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)
regarding a possible threat by terrorist elements targeting
schools in Indonesia with western affiliations.

Since the Bali tragedy, there have been dozens of reported
threats throughout the city, but all have turned out to be
hoaxes.

Last year, a grenade was thrown into the Australian
International School campus, but no one was injured and the
school remained open. The police are still in the dark about the
incident.