Poor urged to attend free schools

JAKARTA (JP): A councilor and official urged teenagers of poor families in the capital yesterday to attend free-of-charge open junior high schools (SMP Terbuka).

Instead of becoming drop-outs, the open schools would be the best option for the poor children to beat the monetary crisis, councilor Soeparmo, head of Commission E for social welfare affairs, said.

"Please, don't quit school. Children may have to work to help their families earn a living but they have also got to go to school," the councilor told reporters.

The spokesman at the city office of the Ministry of Education and Culture, Hadis Hadianegara, said the 33 open junior high schools in the city were totally free.

"All SMP Terbuka are fully funded by the government. There are no charges or fees which have to be paid by the students," he said.

Although giving no precise figures, both Soeparmo and Hadis estimated that quite a large number of poor parents had prevented their children, particularly those who had just completed their elementary education, from continuing their study due to the economic turmoil.

Allowing them to continue in education would only cause further headaches for parents as prices of almost all goods and services had skyrocketed in the past few months, they said.

The city office for social service affairs reported recently that some parents had allowed or even forced their children to work to help ease their families' financial difficulties, Soeparmo said.

"I think it's okay for children, at a certain level, to help their parents.

"During my childhood, for example, I sold cookies to contribute to paying my school fees. But children have to get a proper education," the councilor said.

Understanding

Echoing Soeparmo's opinion, Hadis said he could understand if some financially troubled families refused to continue paying for their children's study.

But with the presence of SMP Terbuka in the capital, the parents should make it a priority for the future of their children, he said.

Hadis said the open schools would benefit teenagers, who might currently have to work for their families to earn money because the school hours were relatively flexible.

"The open schools open at 4 p.m. and last for only about four hours so that the students can still do their job before or after attending the school," he said.

He said the status of SMP Terbuka was just the same as the regular schools.

"So students who complete the open schools can continue their study later at regular high schools," said Hadis.

He said the open school program, which is only available for junior high school students, had been developed since 1994 to help teenagers from poor families or those who could not attend regular schools for economic reasons.

He refused to say how many children currently attended the schools.

Open schools in Jakarta are located in Johar Baru, Kemayoran, Palmerah and Senen districts in Central Jakarta, Kali Deres, Cengkareng and Petamburan districts in West Jakarta, Kebayoran Lama, Pasar Minggu and Mampang districts in South Jakarta.

The open schools use state-owned junior high school buildings in the appointed districts. (cst)