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.