Parents report officials over school

Parents report officials over school

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta

Parents of students of a disputed school in Melawai, South
Jakarta, filed a complaint with the police on Saturday against
several high-ranking state officials for intimidation and
negligence.

"We, parents of the students, have received repeated threats
from people claiming to represent the Jakarta administration.
They forced us to move from the school building," Johny Elian,
who chairs the school committee for state junior high school SMP
56, said.

Among the officials named in the complaint are Minister of
National Education Abdul Malik Fadjar and Jakarta Governor
Sutiyoso.

Johny said he filed the complaint on behalf of the parents of
51 students who have refused to move to another school as
demanded by the Jakarta administration. The majority of the
school's 750 students have complied with the city
administration's decision.

The dispute began on Sept. 26, 2000, when the Ministry of
National Education executed a land swap deal with Abdul Latief's
PT Tata Disantara. As part of the deal, PT Tata would build two
new buildings in South Jakarta to house SMP 56 and another
school, SMU 87. In exchange, the company would receive the land
in Melawai where SMP 56 previously stood.

Johny said the national education ministry and the city
administration had violated the students' basic right to an equal
education as guaranteed by the Constitution. The parents, he
said, believed both the ministry and the administration had
adopted a discriminatory policy that prevented their children
from studying safely.

A lawyer representing the school committee, Lambok Gultom,
said the officials were accused of violating Article 31 of the
Constitution, the national education law, the agrarian affairs
law, Article 52 of the Criminal Code on intimidation and the
human rights law.

Jakarta administration spokesman Muhayat told The Jakarta Post
the school committee's move was welcomed, saying it was
everyone's right to file a police complaint.

"We did everything in accordance with the law. We believe the
school building is now empty as all of the students have moved to
the new building on Jl. Jeruk Purut in South Jakarta," Muhayat
said.

The Jakarta administration gave students the choice of moving
to a new school on Jl. Jeruk Purut or to other schools near their
former school in Melawai.

Muhayat said teachers, students and parents who opposed the
administration's decision to close down the school were breaking
the law.

"We presume there are no learning activities taking place at
the school building in Melawai. What is left is a group of
individuals who have accepted new students illegally," said
Muhayat.

Teachers, parents and students say they were not asked to be
part of the negotiations for the land swap deal, and many of them
initially rejected the move to the new school.

A group of parents and teachers filed a civil lawsuit asking
the district court to annul the deal, but to no avail. The group
appealed to the Jakarta High Court and is awaiting a decision.

Many parties, including a group of House of Representatives
legislators and members of the National Commission on Human
Rights, have offered mediation to resolve the dispute.