Private schools told to aid poor students
Private schools told to aid poor students
JAKARTA (JP): Secretary-General of the Ministry of Education
and Culture Hasan Walinono has urged private schools operators to
subsidize poor but talented students.
"I strongly call for the provision of such subsidies to enable
talented students from poor families to continue their studies,"
Hasan said at the launching of the Global Jaya School owned by PT
Pembangunan Jaya on Friday evening.
PT Pembangunan Jaya is a joint venture between the city
administration and private businesses.
Hasan said that the growth of private schools in the city
reflects the attention businessmen give to national education, in
addition to their goal of improving the quality of human
resources to face the era of globalization.
Global Jaya, located on Jl. Raya Jombang in the Bintaro Jaya
Sector IX housing complex in Tangerang, will combine national and
international curricula. Besides Indonesian, students will be
taught to actively use English.
Responding to Hasan's call, Ciputra, chairman of the school's
board of trustees, said that the school will allow students from
nearby schools to utilize Global Jaya's resources, including
their English speaking teachers.
Global Jaya's kindergarten and elementary schools will open
next July. Its junior and senior high schools will open in July
next year.
Hasan explained that the government allows schools to employ
foreign teachers, as long as the teachers have work permits, in
order to improve the quality of education in Indonesia.
"A number of schools have already done that," he said, warning
that schools intending to employ foreign teachers must get
permission from the Ministry of Manpower and the Ministry of
Education and Culture.
He said foreign teachers are needed to help teach English. "We
need native speakers to enable us to speak English properly," he
said.
Ciputra added that the Global school was designed to stop rich
Indonesians from sending their children abroad to study.
Global Jaya, built on seven-hectare of land, has facilities
ranging from a library to sport buildings. (yns/hhr)