Parents brace for first day of school
Damar Harsanto, Jakarta
It's school time again on Monday after almost one-month's holiday, time for traffic congestion in the morning and early afternoon around popular schools located on busy streets.
But, not only students were back at school, their parents also took several days off just to get their children reacquainted with school.
"I've taken a week's leave to accompany my daughter to school. I must make sure that she gets used to leaving for school and going home on public transportation," Kristin, a resident of Tebet Dalam, South Jakarta, told The Jakarta Post on Monday.
She was waiting for her daughter at the front gate of state high school SMA 68 in Salemba, Central Jakarta.
With worry lines clearly etched on her face, Kristin said that her daughter had never gone home alone using public transportation.
"From our home to school, she has to switch buses twice," she said, adding that what she feared most was her daughter would get lost amid the city's chaotic transportation system.
Crimes aboard buses and violent student brawls in many parts of the capital made going to school by bus not a comfortable prospect for 15-year-old students, especially for boys. feel free to cut this para "I'm considering giving her a cellular phone to enable me to contact her anytime in order to know her whereabouts and to make sure she is safe," Kristin added.
She is not alone. Another parent, Syamsudin, an employee of the Ministry of Communications, also took several days off just to accompany his daughter to school.
Syamsudin said that his daughter used to go to a school close to their home in South Bekasi, about 30 kilometers to the east of Jakarta.
Syamsudin said that he enrolled his daughter at a state school far from home as he was concerned about the quality of education at state schools close to their home.
"They impose additional tests to admit new students. I heard some parents had bribed school teachers with up to Rp 7 million to pass the tests. I can't imagine what would happen if my daughter studied there," he said.
Meanwhile, Sinaga, whose daughter was enrolled at SMA 8 in Bukit Duri, South Jakarta, said that she was worried whether the atmosphere of the school's would be conducive to her daughter's development.
"I know my daughter well. If she feels comfortable in an environment it will make her smarter, but a nonconducive situation would only discourage her. If I find that the school is not suitable for her, I will take her to another school which can provide a better environment in which to study," said the resident of Bekasi.
The Jakarta Middle and High School Education Agency reported earlier that 31,699 new students were admitted to 115 state high schools across the city for the 2004-2005 academic year. However, around 2,300 would-be students failed to reregister to confirm their admission at the respective schools.
New students did not have formal classes on Monday since they were given time to get acquainted with new classmates and to adapt themselves to the new environment.