School principals reprimaded for excessive fees

JAKARTA (JP): The city's education officials have reprimanded 20 state-run high school headmasters for charging new students tuition fees in excess of the government-set levels.

The move comes only one day after Governor Surjadi Soedirdja called on the city branch of the Ministry of Education and Culture to look into complaints of "additional fees" lodged by parents trying to enroll their children.

Surjadi also promised swift action against any school administrators that violate the fee regulations.

The branch's committee for high school enrollment has already warned 20 headmasters over these additional fees, which are not approved by the city administration, said Alwi Nurdin, who heads the committee.

Alwi insisted yesterday that high schools in the city were not allowed to take additional fees, except as set by the city branch of the Ministry of Education and Culture.

He said his committee plans to gather all the headmasters of the 1,120 state-run junior high schools in Jakarta on July 13 to restate the administration's policy regarding school fees. A similar meeting with headmasters of 558 state-run senior high schools will be held the following day.

Under the policy, he stated, parents are only required to pay the admission fees and the cost of new school uniforms.

The admission fee for junior high schools in Jakarta is Rp 35,000 ($16) and Rp 40,000 ($18) for senior high schools.

The cost of a uniform is Rp 55,700 ($25) and Rp 68,500 ($31) for junior and senior high school students respectively.

The enrollment of new students at junior and senior high schools this year has been beset by two controversies.

First there were complaints by parents that some schools were hiking the grades of the final exams of their pupils in return for money or for the sake of making their schools look good.

Now that this matter has been put behind and schools began admitting students, some parents complained about the unexpected additional fees they were asked to pay at short notice.

Some parents alleged that one senior high school in North Jakarta is asking for an additional Rp 312,250, listing 12 additional items that they have to pay. They were given only two days to pay or forfeit the hard-won seats, the parents said.

The new school year begins on Monday.

Meanwhile, a councilor yesterday called on the administration to investigate and take firm action against the schools that set excessive admission fees.

Zakiruddin Djamin of the Council's Commission E overseeing social welfare said the extra fees go against the government's program to improve the country's human resources.

"This is outrageous, the administration should investigate the case and take firm action against the schools' administrators because they have damaged government's program," he told reporters yesterday.

Zakiruddin urged the city administration to find ways of freeing students from paying any admission fee, stressing that free education is the best way of ensuring that all children in the city get an education.

"This (the fee) is not right because it means that education is only for the rich," he said. (29/yns)