Naughty developers get warning

Naughty developers get warning

The House Commission IX on education has threatened to bring
to court delinquent real estate developers who do not build
educational facilities for their housing complexes.

"Developers must not put too much emphasis on profits and
ignore the community's need for education," warned Sukowaluyo
Mintorahardjo, the deputy chairman of the commission.

Some new residential complexes on the outskirts of Jakarta,
such as Bekasi, Depok and Tangerang, are not equipped with
adequate educational facilities for school-age children (seven to
12 years old) living in the complexes.

A number of elementary schools in Bekasi were reported to have
been forced to accommodate school children beyond their seat
capacities. Some schools were reported to have resorted to three
learning shifts to accommodate the overwhelming number of school
children.

This problem, Sukowati said, was caused by the high number of
Jakartans who have moved to new residential areas on the
outskirts which do not provide an adequate number of schools for
their children.

This problem also showed poor control of the government
agencies involved in educational affairs, he was quoted by Antara
as saying Tuesday.

Sukowati said the city administration and the Ministry of
Education and Culture have not properly handled this problem.

As a result, a school in a certain region had to be closed
down because of lack of pupils, while another one in another
region had to introduce three shifts because they had too many
students, he added. (arf)