Ministry denies endorsing uniform shoes project

JAKARTA (JP): The Ministry of Education and Culture denied yesterday reports that it endorsed a project that would have a shoe manufacturer monopolize sales of shoes for 26.5 million elementary school students.

Director for Students Supervision at the Ministry of Education and Culture, Nasihin, was quoted by Antara as saying that the ministry never issued approval to PT Aryo Nusa Pakarti to arrange sales directly with schools or teachers.

"We've never ordered students to wear shoes of a certain shoe manufacturer," Nasichin said.

The company claimed it had the approval of the ministry.

"The Ministry of Education and Culture responded positively to our proposal (for school children to wear black, uniform shoes)," operations manager Supriyono said last Wednesday. "It had no objection to our offer (of selling) our shoes to students."

Nasichin, however, said the so-called "approval" the company showed schools was actually director-general of elementary and high schools Z.A. Achmady's letter welcoming the company's proposal for the project.

"We have no argument with your proposal as long as it is not an obligation for students (to buy the shoes) and will not place a burden on parents," Achmady said in the letter dated Aug. 4, 1996.

The so-called uniform shoes project has drawn protest from parents who said they still felt they had to buy the shoes as the deal was arranged through schools.

More opposition came yesterday from an Islamic socioeducational organization, Muhammadiyah, which has some 28 million supporters across the country. Chairman M. Amien Rais called on the government to drop the project altogether.

Speaking to reporters after addressing a discussion at Muhammadiyah University in Jakarta, Amien said Muhammadiyah, which operates thousands of schools, would be directly affected by the project.

"We organize thousands of elementary schools, one third of the students come from poor families and go to school barefooted," he said.

The Jakarta-based company has reportedly been working on an ambitious project to put shoes, bearing the logo OSIS, on the feet of many elementary school students across the country. The shoes' logo stands for Interscholastic Students Organization.

According to press reports, the company has been selling its shoes directly to schools in the East and West Java provinces. A pair of shoes costs Rp 21,000 (US$7.90). (imn)