Japanese school reaches out to local people

Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Strolling into the Jakarta Japanese School (JJS) complex in Bintaro Jaya, Tangerang, one immediately feels welcome thanks to its friendly atmosphere.

While the security arrangements are tight, as is typical of most international schools in the capital, the security guards treat guests with respect, while dutifully checking the identity of each one.

"Please take off your shoes and put on the slippers there," an Indonesian female guard told The Jakarta Post in the school lobby.

She said every guest is required to take off their shoes before walking into the building. The regulation, however, does not apply to students and teachers.

JJS, the only Japanese school in the capital, moved to its current location in 1996 after moving from Tebet to Pasar Minggu and then to Cilandak, all in South Jakarta.

The JJS currently has 638 elementary school students and 222 junior high school students.

Its kindergarten is still located in Cilandak, with 176 students.

JJS principal Naoru Kiryu said all students in the school were Japanese or half Japanese. Needless to say that its medium of instruction is Japanese.

"We don't have any non Japanese-speaking students. Some have an Indonesian mother or father who is married to a Japanese," Kiryu told the Post.

He said that most Japanese diplomats posted in Jakarta and businesspeople staying for a long time in the city send their children to the school.

Kiryu added that most students studying in the school moved to Indonesia after studying for some time in Japan.

"So, they just continue their lessons here. We must provide lessons as a continuation of what they have learned in Japan," he said.

The school, established in 1969, employs a total of 44 Japanese teachers, five Indonesian teachers and five Western teachers.

"Beside English, we teach Indonesian language so that they can communicate with their Indonesian friends. In fact, we often invite local schools for matches, including basketball and soccer," the school's director for community relations Hiroshi Saito told the Post.

Besides science and computer laboratory rooms, the school also has one big soccer field, surrounded by a 400-meter track, two big gymnasiums, and two swimming pools, one each for elementary and junior high students.

JJS also has a special program for the students to familiarize themselves with the local culture and customs by holding events involving local schools and residents.

"Periodically, we train them to plant rice in rice fields in several villages around Jakarta. They can communicate directly with farmers there," Saito said.

Every year during Idul Fitri, the school also holds charity programs to help residents from surrounding areas, he said.

The school also employs around 50 nearby local residents as janitors and security guards and hires over a dozen buses from a local bus company to pick up students from their homes and drop them home again after school.

"We have no problem in dealing with residents from surrounding areas as the school, its staff and students can mix harmoniously with them," a senior security guard, who asked not to be named, told the Post.