'No quality school for the poor'

Many observers and parents have complained about the cost of quality, yet affordable education, citing the central government's lack of resolve to fully subsidize education for the poor. The Jakarta Post asked Jakartans their thoughts on the issue.

Saras Dewi, 21, is a student activist. She lives with her family in Pangeran Antasari area, South Jakarta:

Quality schools for the poor? It sounds impossible. A quality school may provide scholarships or create a cross subsidy derived from parents' donations, but few poor people enjoy access to that.

Yes, there are schools for the poor. I know of one school in Muara Angke, North Jakarta, that does not require school fees. But don't talk about quality, it is far below standard.

For me, the gap between schools for the rich and for the poor is significant. We may never witness a genius coming from remote villages or from families that live on the riverbanks. The case of George from Papua is rare and is not related to the quality of our national education.

I know of a state elementary school that asked Rp 7 million as an entrance fee, even though there is a law that prohibits state schools from asking money from parents. This is another form of corruption. And the perpetrators, who are mostly school principals, should be sent to prison or fired.

Such a situation is disheartening because people actually do not have to pay to send their children to state schools. They also don't have to pay for exams. There are laws that regulate this. The law states that all regular school programs will be financed by the Ministry of National Education. So, there should be no more fees asked by the schools.

Parents should realize this and be critical about every fee that is asked by the school. The public must report this to NGOs if they receive any information about state schools that are asking money from students.

Bobby Bharata, 32, is an entrepreneur. He lives with his family in Cimanggis, Depok:

Quality, affordable education is unrealistic. I want it so badly, but it doesn't exist. When I wanted to send my daughter to kindergarten, most well-known kindergartens asked around Rp 5 million to Rp 20 million for the entrance fee.

The reason for the fee, they said, was because they were famous and could develop my child's intelligence. I chose to save the money and send my daughter to a not so expensive school, even though it did not promise to make my child the next B.J. Habibie.

Schools for the poor are those organized by NGOs or student activists in slums. Based on the facilities and the quality of the teacher volunteers there, I doubt that any physicists or biology experts would come from the schools.

The problem is we are too dependent on schools. Parents could teach their children to read books or learn history, but why do they avoid this? If you want to avoid sending your children to an expensive school but you want them to be as smart as Einstein, teach them yourself!

--The Jakarta Post