Parents, councillors reject principals' study tour

Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Bandung

The inclusion of at least 38 principals of West Java state senior high schools (SMU) in an overseas study tour has drawn protests from parents and councillors, who have demanded the trip be canceled.

They criticized the educators for lacking sensitivity toward growing concerns over the high cost of education, which has further burdened parents in the crisis-riddled country.

The planned overseas trip would only be a waste of money, said Dana Setia, chairperson of the Bandung Education Council. The council consists of educators and parents.

"Parents have paid very expensive fees to state schools in Bandung -- around Rp 2 million each. Many parents have even had to borrow money so that their children could continue their education. But they (principals) feel no qualms about going on an overseas trip on the pretext of a comparative study," she said.

Dana said her office had written to the Bandung legislative council and the mayor to demand that the "crazy" plan be blocked.

She argued that school budgets did not allocate funds for an overseas trip by principals. "The money should only be used to cover operational costs of education that have continued to increase since the government cut its subsidies."

Sharing a similar view, Endrizal Nazar of Council Commission E overseeing education, health and social welfare said the planned trip violated existing procedures.

"The organization of such a trip should have obtained permission from the mayor, because the program would cause state educators to take leave of their duties," he said.

Another Commission E member, Yudi Widiana Adia, rejected the idea that such a study tour would help improve the quality of education.

He promised the Council would seek a cancellation of the plan.

Bandung education office head Oji Mahroji denied knowing about the plan and vowed to urge that the trip be dropped.

Bambang Sutrisno, head of public education at the provincial office of education and initiator of the plan, said the study tour was aimed at improving the quality of education in West Java.

The principals are scheduled to visit Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand from Aug. 20 to Aug. 27, with their expenses paid for by their respective schools.

At least 24 officials from Bambang will also join the overseas comparative study, he said. Twenty of the 38 SMU principals are from schools in Bandung.

Each principal who wanted to join the trip was asked to transfer Rp 8.5 million to bank accounts belonging to two officials at the Bandung education office.

The itinerary of the study trip, however, includes visits to only one school each in Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia, and otherwise appears to be dominated by recreational programs like shopping and tours to the Raffles statue, the Singapore River and Chinatown in Singapore.

After visiting Singapore, the participants are to leave for Bangkok to visit West Arun and Pattaya, and see the Tifany Show, the Bencing Show and the Thai Girls Show.

The principals will fly back to Singapore to visit a school before continuing on to Malaysia, where one school visit is planned before a trip to the Genting Highlands, a popular gambling resort.