Schools told to obey regulations on exam fees

JAKARTA (JP): The head of the city office of the Ministry of Education and Culture has asked both private and state-run schools not to charge examination fees higher than the amount set by the governor.

Managements of private schools which have charged parents more than the set fees should return the remainder to those parents, Kusnan Ismukanto said yesterday.

He did not say what action he would take against those private schools who refused to return the money.

Kusnan also did not specify what form of punishment would be imposed on principals of state-run schools who asked students to pay more than the recommended fees.

"Granting better financial incentives [which are taken from a portion of the student fees] for the teachers who supervise the examinations is okay, but causing students to miss examinations because they cannot afford the higher fees is definitely wrong," he said.

A total of 468,267 elementary and high school students will attend the examinations this year.

Maximum examination fees range from Rp 18,000 (US$7.69) for elementary-level schools, Rp 15,000 for junior high schools, and Rp 54,000 for senior high schools. The highest fees are set at Rp 60,000 for technical high school exams.

In response to a report that a state-run junior high school in West Jakarta has asked parents to pay Rp 35,000 for examination fees, Kusnan said, "We will ask the foundation which owns the school to take action."

Schools are also not allowed to link the right to attend examinations with any payments a student may owe to the school, such as outing fees. State-owned schools can obtain permission from the city office to wave the rules if certain students cannot pay monthly fees, he said.

"Report to our office if any student cannot attend examinations. We'll pay what they owe if we have to," Kusnan said.

Kusnan also commented on students of the Arena Siswa III secondary school in East Jakarta, who complained to the city council that his office had banned them from attending exams.

"We have never issued an operational permit to the school," Kusnan said.

The students said that the principal had assured them that everyone would graduate and that the money they paid would guarantee them good grades.

Kusnan had stated on Tuesday that no further permits would be issued for new technical schools. He said that most technical schools are in poor condition, which is one of the reasons why their students are often engaged in brawls.

The Director of Vocational and Secondary Schooling, Kasito, said that the existing 116 technical high schools have one year to improve themselves.

"After that, we will determine which ones can be merged," he said.

Tunggul Siagian, the head of the Christian School Foundation, expressed his disagreement with the idea of merging technical schools, which lack resources.

"That would mean merging poverty," he told The Jakarta Post.

The foundation's technical school charges Rp 25,000 per student monthly, but it provides a Rp 50,000 subsidy per student, he said.

"Who will pay the subsidies if the schools are merged?" Tunggul said.

The government should carefully select schools which require larger subsidies, he added. (anr/yns)