Parents complain about increase in Serpong school admission fees
Parents complain about increase in Serpong school admission fees
Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Tangerang
Dozens of school-aged children in Rawa Buntu village in Serpong,
Tangerang will not get an education this year as the nearby state
elementary school raised its admission fees from between Rp
350,000 last year to Rp 2.35 million in 2005.
The school, Karya Bakti elementary, defended the decision,
saying that the money was needed to construct three new
classrooms.
Local villagers wanting to enroll their children at the school
complained that the new admission fee was too expensive for them,
most of whom are small farmers.
Rizal Siradj, 36, who registered his son with the school
earlier this week, for example, said he would never be able to
afford the fee.
"I think many other parents will also oppose such an expensive
admission fee because they are not rich," he told The Jakarta
Post.
Another parent, Fauzi Ommy, 39, said he was shocked when told
that the school was making parents pay Rp 2.35 million.
"I thought it was just a joke and I did not take it seriously.
I realized that it was not a joke when parents complained about
the high fee," he said.
Last year, according to Fauzi, the school charged admission
fees of between Rp 350,000 and Rp 750,000, depending on the
financial condition of the parents.
Other state schools in Tangerang charge between Rp 250,000 and
Rp 500,000.
Samilah, who also registered her daughter at the school, said
that if she could not pay the required amount, her daughter would
not be able to attend school.
"What makes state schools different from elite private schools
if the admission fee is supposed to be much lower," she
exclaimed.
Abdullah, the secretary of the School Committee said, however,
that the parents could pay the fee in installments.
"We don't oblige parents to pay for the admission fee all at
once, they can pay in stages. If they want their children to
study at this school, they must pay the fee," he said.
He said that the figure was decided upon in a meeting held by
the school committee last Saturday.
According to Abdullah, the school needed a total of Rp 306
million to build three new classrooms and renovate three old
class rooms.
"The admission fee covers the developmental donation, school
uniforms, a batik shirt, books for one semester and other school
needs," he said.
He added that the school had repeatedly requested additional
classrooms and the renovation of damaged buildings from the
regency administration, but there had been no response.
"We cannot wait until the building collapses and kills
students inside," he stressed.
Muhyi Syarifudin, head of the regency education agency, said
the administration did not determine a fixed standard for school
admission fees, as they allowed the school committees to do that,
since each school has its own committee comprising student's
parents.
He added that the administration was incapable of repairing or
upgrading the estimated 700 rundown schools across the regency,
so his office could not prevent schools from raising cash for
renovation work or additional rooms.
"However, it does not mean that we are not listening to
parents' complaints. We will accommodate them and try to find a
win-win solution," he pledged.