More parents complain aboutr violence at STPDN

More parents complain aboutr violence at STPDN

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Following the controversial death of Wahyu Hidayat, a student
at the government-run Public Administration Institute (STPDN) in
Sumedang, West Java, more parents have filed complaints with
the police over the violence their children had experienced while
studying there.

Nina Karlina, the mother of Nunu Karsa Nugraha, 19, filed a
complaint on Wednesday with the Sumedang Police over a series of
violent acts allegedly committed by her son's seniors since
September last year that had eventually forced him to resign from
the institute.

Since the death of Wahyu, Sumedang Police have recorded three
other cases of violence suffered by students, including Nunu and
Jurinata. The latter had also decided to quit after being
subjected to a series of beatings blamed on older students.

"My son didn't do anything wrong when the seniors started to
single him out and victimized," Nina Karlina told the police. "He
was once ordered by them to guard the dorms at night during which
he witnessed some seniors using drugs there."

"Since that incident, he became a target for beating. He still
suffers from a serious injury in his stomach," Nina said.

"Due to the traumatic experience, my son decided to escape
from the school and filed for resignation, but the school head
asked me to pay compensation amounting to Rp 2.1 million
(US$247)," Nina said, adding that she had failed to meet the
request due to financial difficulties.

STPDN's students, who are government employees, are exempted
from paying tuition fees.

Another parent said that it was common for his son to come
home over the weekend covered with bruises.

According to Sumedang Police Chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Yoyok
Subagyono, the office is currently questioning students whose
faces were seen on a video tape recording them committing violent
acts at the institute.

The video was first aired by private television station SCTV
on Sunday.

Meanwhile, National Police deputy spokesman Sr. Comr. Zainuri
Lubis said on Wednesday that police had received a request for
protection from Inu Kencana Syafi'i, a lecturer from STPDN
believed to be responsible for leaking the video tape.

"He came to the National Police Headquarters last night to
seek police protection after he received a death threat," said
Zainuri.

Police will deploy personnel to accompany him and ensure his
safety, Zainuri said.

In response to mounting criticism over STPDN's tradition of
violence, Minister of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno has set up an
ethics commission to review the moral standing of STPDN's
personnel and to identify problems among the students and
lecturers.

Hari also stressed that "STPDN is in a critical state, which
requires that we (his Ministry) directly supervise the institute
by assigning our staff from the secretariat general to be in
charge there."

Hari has appointed I Nyoman Sumaryadi, an official at the
ministry's secretariat general, as coordinator in charge of day-
to-day activities at the school. Earlier on Tuesday, Hari
appointed the ministry's secretary-general Siti Nurbaya as acting
head of the school.

STPDN head Soetrisno has been removed from his position and
has been assigned a job at the Ministry of Home Affairs, Hari
added.

The decision was made after the minister conducted a rapid
appraisal over the school's performance following the
controversial death of Wahyu, a second-year student, on Sept. 2.

The 20-year-old died after he was allegedly beaten by seniors
at the institute, which has a reputation for military-style
discipline.

The Sumedang police have declared 12 students suspects in
Wahyu's case.

Hari is also planning to merge the STPDN with the Jakarta-
based Institute of Public Administration and expects to have the
merging completed within six months or at least by early in the
2004 academic year.

As part of efforts to review the institute's curriculum, Hari
said that he had urged the school to stop all activities that
were prone to physical abuse as well as to review the students'
psychological tests.

Last year's psychological tests conducted by the institute
showed that 37 percent of the 806 students were alarmingly
aggressive and 35 percent showed hypersexual tendencies. The
tests also conclude that "this is the wrong place to educate
civil servants."