National Plus schools: Education for the elite few

National Plus schools: Education for the elite few

By Lena Rosenthal

JAKARTA (JP): A lot of well-to-do Indonesian parents send
their children abroad to ensure they will receive a better
education. During the crisis, however, some may have to think
twice about overseas education.

While international schools here are only for expatriate
families, there are now alternatives for those who are looking
for a better education, but don't want to send their little ones
far from home: National Plus schools.

Fulfilling all requirements of the national curriculum, these
elite private institutions in addition offer programs adapted
from Australia, the UK or the U.S.A. Thus, lessons are in the
main conducted in English.

So far there are only a few National Plus schools in the
Jakarta area, but they appeal to quite a few parents.

"This school is a good compromise," explains V. Murti, who
sends his sons to Tiara Bangsa school in Cibubur, East Jakarta.
"The Indonesian curriculum is blended into an international
setting. This way my children will be able to study overseas if
they wish to do so."

Aiming for a high international standard, the schools educate
their students to be bilingual and critical thinkers -- something
most local schools do not provide.

"It is our mission to provide high quality education to
educate future business people and leaders of this country,"
Darell van Luchene, Academic Advisor at Pelita Harapan school
explained.

The executive principal at Global Jaya school, Kenneth Cook,
said his school combined Western teaching methods and expatriate
staff with the Indonesian national curriculum "to produce
students that will be competitive around the world".

First opened in 1995, Global Jaya, located in Bintaro,
Tangerang, has some 500 students enrolled from kindergarten to
senior high school. Tiara Bangsa, which opened three years ago,
has 125 elementary school and junior high school students. Pelita
Harapan was established in 1993 and has about 1,000 students,
from prekindergarten to senior high. It has four campuses: Lippo
Karawaci, Tangerang; Bukit Sentul, Bogor; Lippo Cikarang Bekasi
and one at Sudirman Tower Condominium, Central Jakarta. The
Sudirman campus is for nursery and kindergarten aged children
only.

Almost all students at these schools are Indonesian citizens.
However, the National Plus schools also attract some children
from marriages between expatriates and locals. They claim they
cannot afford to pay the skyrocketing fees of the international
schools, but are nevertheless looking for a school which will
provide western standards for their children.

"The fees at the international schools in Jakarta are not
affordable for us," said an Australian-Indonesian couple. "This
way our daughter will be able to decide which country she will
later continue her education in."

As the fees are still high compared to common Indonesian
schools, National Plus schools draw the rich only. "It's an
excellent school, but it is suitable only for the upper class,"
explains Ibu Astrid, an art teacher at Tiara Bangsa school. "Who
else can afford the fees?"

Fees at Tiara Bangsa are Rp 15 million per academic year for
each student. At Global Jaya, a kindergarten enrollment costs Rp
15 million, but an elementary and high school student fee is Rp
20,625,000. Enrollment fees at Pelita Harapan range between Rp 30
million and Rp 45 million.

"We realize that education is just like an industry; if you
want to be able to compete on the market you have to offer
quality," Pak Tangyong, Director at Tiara Bangsa and a research
specialist at the Ministry of Education said.

These elite schools indeed offer a high standard education
combined with a wide variety of extracurricular activities,
ranging from painting and classical music to horse riding and
rock climbing.

"I take a ballet class here," a 6th grade student at Pelita
Harapan said.

More and more exclusive private schools are developing
language programs to prepare their students for a future in which
bilingualism will be a must for many graduates. St. Laurensia
school in Serpong, promises that its students will easily obtain
a TOEFL score of 500.

Clearly, such schools are working hard to provide a better
education for students.

But is this the right way to gradually improve the Indonesian
educational system?

"If you offer a better education to Indonesian students it
certainly will improve the educational system somewhere along the
line," says Barbara Nichols, a technical advisor at Tiara Bangsa.

While the establishment of National Plus schools may be a way
for the elite to circumvent the Indonesian educational system, it
is not a long term solution to establish what Indonesia really
needs: a totally reformed educational system.

Kenneth Cook from Global Jaya agrees: "It should be our goal
to eventually not require expatriate teachers, so that we can
create an affordable model that can be reproduced across the
nation. But it is the responsibility of the teacher training
colleges to train teachers who are able to regenerate the
Indonesian educational system".