Santi Rama celebrates 30 years of educating the deaf

JAKARTA (JP): Unlike other schools, Santi Rama was unusually "noisy" on Wednesday.

Despite the fact some 406 students from preschool to high school are enrolled at Santi Rama, the school is normally pretty quiet.

That is not surprising given that Santi Rama in Cipete, South Jakarta, is the largest school for the deaf in Jakarta. And on Wednesday it kicked off a four-day celebration to mark its 30th anniversary.

At a glance there are few signs differentiating Santi Rama from other schools. But unlike other schools, there is no screaming, shouting or loud laughter heard in the halls; only hands enthusiastically moving to form words and gestures.

The opening day of the celebration on Wednesday featured everything from a bazaar offering goods and handicrafts made by the students, to an exhibition and arts performance.

Despite the hot weather, several barefooted students performed a traditional West Sumatran dance on the basketball court, with the music blasting in the background.

"We had to turn up the volume or else the students would have been unable to feel the vibrations as they danced," said the chairman of the Santi Rama Foundation, Hendarto Hendarmin.

"If only we could get all of them hearing aids," Hendarto sighed, adding that a hearing aid cost up to Rp 4 million (US$480).

Not all of the students can afford it, of course, he said, adding that even the monthly school tuition of Rp 175,000 ($21) was considered by some to be relatively expensive.

The tuition goes toward providing facilities and equipment not usually found in regular schools. The ratio of teachers to students is high, with one teacher for every three students, despite the fact that finding qualified teachers to educate children with special needs is not easy.

The school's curriculum also is slightly different, with elementary school lasting eight years rather than the two in other schools.

Lani Bunawan, the head of the educational department at Santi Rama, said the Ministry of National Education was demanding it implement a "normal" curriculum.

"It's impossible. It's true that generally (our students) have the same level of intelligence as other students, but remember they have to learn the language first before they can study anything else," Lani said, adding that was why the students remained in elementary school for eight years.

Lani said it was difficult enough for teachers to make the extra effort and show the patience to teach deaf children without having the ministry criticize their teaching methods.

She added that the ministry was not all that happy that the school was teaching children as young as 18 months old.

"It's so they can learn the language as soon as possible," she said.

Lani said the reality of life here was that most deaf children would be unable to learn to communicate if they were not taught in schools, because few parents knew how to teach their deaf children properly.

Most parents of deaf children resort to being overly cautious and speaking in short, simple sentences, she said.

Lani also noted it was important to take advantage of the fact that most deaf children of preschool age still had traces of hearing.

Enrollment at Santi Rama is very selective. While the school predominately caters to children with hearing disabilities, about 30 percent of those enrolled also have impaired vision, though they are not legally blind.

According to Lani, given the proper environment the educational aptitude of these children is often impressive.

"One of our graduates is now working at state-owned oil company Pertamina. And I heard he's doing great there," Lani said.

The least the government and the general public can do is provide the deaf with more opportunities, she said.

According to Hendarto, there are about 700,000 deaf people in Indonesia but only about 10,000 receive a formal education.

In Jakarta itself, there are approximately 35 schools which cater to deaf students, but most have poor facilities and few students.

"The most important thing for the deaf is to guarantee their rights. Don't limit their rights, for example the right to get a driver's license. Why can't they get one ?" Lani asked.

Lani said several Santi Rama students resorted to bribery in order to obtain driver's licenses. "But they're doing OK. No accidents or anything." (09)