Jakarta to appoint top grade schools

JAKARTA (JP): The Jakarta Office of the Ministry of Education and Culture plans to appoint top-grade state-run senior high schools.

Those who graduate from junior high school with the highest marks can choose the top schools, although they are located outside the students' regional exam areas or rayons, Soegijo, the head of the City Council's Commission E on education, told The Jakarta Post yesterday.

Under the present system, a student of a state-run junior high school in Klender area, East Jakarta, for instance, is allowed to apply only to state-run senior high schools in Klender and its surroundings as determined by the system.

Soegijo announced the results of his commission's meeting with Tating Karnadinata, the head of the office, on Monday.

According to the plan, the state-run Senior High School Number Eight (SMA 8) will be appointed the top grade senior high school for the entire Jakarta area.

Besides SMA 8, one state-run senior high school in each of Jakarta's five mayoralties has been nominated as a top-grade school. They are SMA 68 for Central Jakarta, SMA 13 for North Jakarta, SMA 78 for West Jakarta, SMA 70 for South Jakarta and SMA 81 for East Jakarta.

Soegijo said the great number of junior high school students who apply to those schools is among the criteria which made them the best candidates to be picked as top-grade schools. (06)