PSKD Montessori Menteng

I refer to the article in The Jakarta Post, June 4, 1996, page three, entitled More superschools in the pipeline. I am concerned that you have missed the point why PSKD Montessori Menteng is being established. The school will strive for excellence in education, not to be a superschool.

The founders recognize that Indonesian society is shifting to an industrial based economy. The shift is taking place in a global context that requires us to increase productivity in order to compete. This creates a need to develop managers with skills that are generally not being taught at public schools. Presently we are educating our young citizens to be technicians. They are not learning how to identify critical issues, provide solutions and have a willingness to take responsibility for subsequent results.

How does a Montessori SD address this, based on our national curriculum? This would be a worthwhile topic if you are exposing the efforts towards improving our schools. Focusing on the specifics of the Montessori approach to learning compared to traditional methods would help people put the PSKD Montessori in an appropriate perspective. Mentioning the cross-subsidy that the PSKD Montessori will eventually bring to other PSKD schools is also worthy of mention.

I would appreciate if you would correct the information to indicate that the fee for July 1996/1997 is Rp. 12,000,000 if paid in advance, Rp. 13,000,000 if paid by trimester, or Rp. 15,000,000 if paid monthly. This July we are operating at Jl. Tanjung 53 in Menteng. After we complete the restoration of the 93-year-old PSKD building on Jl. Sam Ratulangi, our fees for July 1997/1998 may approach Rp. 20,000,000. Please call 719-5408 for any clarifications about the fees and operations of the school.

I appreciate your ongoing coverage of the Indonesian educational system.

ANIE HASHIM

Secretary, Executive Committee

PSKD Montessori Menteng

Jakarta