'Quality of commercial education is questionable'

'Quality of commercial education is questionable'

High admission fees to enroll at educational institutions have
sparked public grievances, while the House of Representatives has
called for a review of the policy. Some argue that students
should pay more if they want good education, but many parents
disagree, saying that the commercialization of education will
eventually degrade its quality. Several shared their views with
The Jakarta Post:

Arie, 48, is an employee with a private company on Jl. Gatot
Subroto, Central Jakarta. She lives in Cijantung, East Jakarta,
with her husband and three children.

School admission fees are now very burdensome for me,
especially as I have three children who must continue their
education this year at junior and senior high schools and
university, all at the same time.

I have paid Rp 7.5 million for my daughter's private junior
high school enrollment. My eldest son has been admitted to a
private university that charges more than Rp 10 million. The
second son is due to enroll at a popular state senior high school
that set admission fees of around Rp 8 million last year.

Besides, it's seems quite bizarre to ask would-be students to
fill in a form stating the salary of their parents, with the last
telephone bill attached.

I think that the quality of education is questionable when
money becomes the top priority. The underprivileged, but
intelligent student will not be motivated to go to school.

It would be better to consider students' achievements and
intelligence as the substantive criteria.

Santo, not his real name, 44, is the father of three children
who works as marketing director for a private company in
Tangerang, Banten. He lives in Gading Serpong, Tangerang, with
his family:

I had to pay quite a lot for my daughters to continue their
education at private junior and senior high schools.

For the private junior high school I paid Rp 8 million and the
senior high school Rp 11 million.

I appreciate that there is no free education now. If we don't
pay the admission fees, who will pay the teachers?

It's almost impossible to demand that teachers be
professional, without paying them appropriately. Loyalty is
nothing without welfare.

I think that most parents are selfish nowadays -- they want
the best education at the lowest cost.

So, how can schools raise funds if we don't pay for tuition?
The government is financially impotent due the absence of a
budget -- we can't rely on the government now.

In terms of education, I think both high or low admission fees
are relative, anyway.

Ignas, 31, is an employee with a private company in South
Jakarta. He lives in Cawang, East Jakarta, with his wife and two
children:

As a parent I worry a lot about admission fees, as they will
be far higher next year for my daughter, who is due to start at
elementary school.

I've no idea how I'll earn enough money to finance my
children's education in the next few years.

I think the commercialization of education has gone too far.
Worse still, the government has failed to provide education
subsidies to help ease the situation.

I'm afraid that the quality of education will drastically
deteriorate if financial considerations become the top priority,
quite apart from the recent curriculum, which is now a burden for
students.

Under such circumstances, people will tend to look for
institutions that are cheap, despite their questionable
reputation.

Many school graduates will not be able to continue their
education and this will increase the unemployment rate.

-- Leo Wahyudi S