Jakarta gets new international standard school

Jakarta gets new international standard school

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Education and Culture Wardiman Djojonegoro inaugurated a new international standard school, Global Unggul Jaya, in Tangerang, West Java, on Saturday.

Like other schools of its kind, Global Unggul Jaya, which opened five months ago, offers international teaching and learning methods based on the local curriculum. As a consequence, English is taught more and the language training begins at earlier ages.

Along with the Japanese and British international schools, Global Unggul Jaya means to familiarize its students with the international community.

The three-story school was built by local property giant, PT Pembangunan Jaya, on seven hectares of land in the Bintaro Jaya housing complex in Tangerang, 30 kilometers south of Jakarta.

The school, with 46 teachers, now has 96 students from pre- school level to grade four of elementary school. Most of the students are children of families living in the Bintaro Jaya complex. More classes will be opened next year. Seven of the teachers are English speaking people.

Each student is charged Rp 17 million (US$7,600) in tuition for six years. For that amount, the students get top study in comfortable air-conditioned classrooms, and have access to a library, computers, a swimming pool, a laboratory and other facilities.

The president of PT Pembangunan Jaya said that "Education nowadays should mix both good knowledge and high technology, we are now trying to provide the students with both."

Minister Wardiman said in his speech that Global Unggul Jaya and other privately run schools can make a meaningful contribution to the nation's education system because the state budget for education is limited.

"Education takes only eight percent of the national budget," he said.

Besides Global Unggul Jaya, the country has other international standard schools, such as Pelita Harapan in Tangerang, West Java, Cilegon International School in Cilegon, West Java, and Islamic Nurul Fikri in Cimanggis, West Java.(03)