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)