Public scrutiny needed over new textbook policy

JAKARTA (JP): The public, including parents of schoolchildren, must closely monitor the selection and procurement of school textbooks if state schools are permitted to select which books are used, education experts said on Thursday.

Arief Rachman of Jakarta State University proposed the establishment of a committee in each school comprising teachers, parents and representatives of the public to monitor the new policy now being considered by the government.

Such close supervision is necessary to prevent corruption and collusion that may occur between book publishers and school administrators, Arief said.

"There is this theory that says that the more people involved, the tighter the control will be," he said.

Minister of National Education Abdul Malik Fajar said he fully endorsed demands by many book publishers to subject the lucrative business of procuring school textbooks to open and fair competition.

Speaking after opening a seminar at the Indonesian Book Fair 2001, Malik said that, in the future the government would not be the party responsible for procuring or conducting tender processes for the publication of textbooks for state-run schools.

"There will be no procurement of prescribed school textbook projects or bidding processes. The government will only provide the funds," he said.

Currently, government-run schools provide most of their textbooks to students for free. The books are produced by publishers selected by the government through a bidding process, a practice allegedly rife with corruption and collusion.

The Indonesian Publishers Association (Ikapi), which organized the annual book fair, has urged the government to allow all publishers to produce and sell prescribed school textbooks, a market currently dominated by a select few publishers who obtain the right through "unfair" bidding processes.

Malik said that, in the future, funds for the books would be given directly to schools, which would have the authority to determine which textbooks to use, instead of the publishers.

Malik said the government and Ikapi would cooperate to ensure that all textbooks met national standards.

Arief said that, while schools would have greater freedom to choose their textbooks, they should follow guidelines established by the government.

Romli Syueb, a deputy headmaster of SMUN1 state high school in Tangerang, said books prescribed by the government often did not suit the students' needs.

He concurred with Arief's suspicion of the possibility for collusive practices under the new school textbook policy.

The problem could be prevented if students, teachers and the public formed a watchdog to make sure the procurement of textbooks is conducted transparently and democratically, he said. (07)