Private schools delay fee hike plans

Private schools delay fee hike plans

JAKARTA (JP): Some private schools in the city have
temporarily postponed increasing monthly tuition fees and the
upcoming yearly admission payment due to the nation's economic
woes.

When contacted by The Jakarta Post over the weekend, the
schools' operators vowed to try to maintain the current tariffs
unless they had no other option.

Some operators hope wealthy parents can help financially
support the students of needy families through a cross-subsidy
system and scholarship program.

"But, we are not sure about the plan because we have to keep
monitoring the latest developments in the economic situation," a
staffer of Pelita Harapan school -- which sets its fees in U.S.
dollars -- in Karawaci, Tangerang said.

Pishu Sawlani, the administration head of Gandhi Memorial
School in Pasar Baru, Central Jakarta, was of the same opinion.

"We are really in a jam here because the prices of most school
materials, such as paper and books, are already too expensive,"
Sawlani said.

A member of staff from popular Tarakanita High School in
Kebayoran, South Jakarta, commented: "Basically, we want to give
the best education we can to the students.

"Education must be reachable for everyone. We are in a
situation where we're supposed to help each other. I don't want
to see my students being abandoned just because their parents
failed to pay the school fees."

The skyrocketing prices of various goods and services,
including basic school necessities, may force both private and
state schools to increase the prices of their services in order
to sustain future operations and maintain staff.

Minister of Education and Culture Wardiman Djojonegoro has
warned of the impending fee increases.

"During the current monetary turmoil, a hike is unavoidable.
But remember, I have not made an official statement saying that
there will be a hike in school tuition fees. I am just saying
that it is a possibility," Wardiman said last Tuesday.

According to 1996 data, Jakarta is home to 6,586 schools --
accommodating children from kindergarten to senior high school
level -- with a total of 1.7 million students.

A spokesman for the city's education and culture regional
office, Hadis Hadianegara, said Saturday that the central
government had not made an official announcement allowing
school's to jack up fees.

"I can tell you for sure, that there has been no increase in
school tuition in the capital," he told the Post.

According to the Pelita Harapan staffer, who asked for
anonymity, the school -- which caters for playgroup to senior
high students -- has received complaints from the students'
parents due to the drastic drop in value of the rupiah against
the greenback.

However, none of the students have been pulled out of the
school, she said.

"We really want our students to continue their studies here."

The tuition fees at Pelita Harapan, located in the Lippo
Karawaci residential and business complex, are currently set at
between US$2,000 and $4,000 per student for yearly admission and
tuition, depending on their level, the employee said.

Based on yesterday's rate, $4,000 is equivalent to the
purchase price of a new Timor sedan.

"We have been able to survive until now mainly due to our
strong commitment to providing the best education services for
the students."

The Tarakanita staffer, who also asked not to be named, said
the school planned to ask for a donation from wealthy parents in
order to help the school survive if the economic crisis worsens.

Gandhi Memorial School raised its monthly school fees -- for
the first time in five years -- about 50 percent on Feb. 1.

"We did it mainly because we wanted to improve our teachers'
remunerations here," Sawlani said.

He said the monthly fee for kindergarten students was set at
Rp 150,000 per student compared to the previous rate of Rp
100,000, for example.

"There have been dozens of parents complaining about the hike,
especially during this tight economic situation. But after we
gave them an explanation about what was happening, they
understood it."

Twenty-five percent of Gandhi's 1,000 students have received
scholarships, he said.

"Therefore, it is hard for us to survive ... because we have
to pay for the scholarships. All this time we have been surviving
because of subsidies from our foundation." (edt)