Schools told to return exam fees

Schools told to return exam fees

Multa Fidrus, Tangerang

Tangerang Regency Education Council (DPKT) told two vocational
schools in Balaraja and Cikupa districts to return fees that
students had paid the schools to sit the National Final Exams,
saying the exams had been financed by the regental
administration.

"To make sure there is transparency in the use of the
students' money, school boards must recalculate their spending,
and it must be witnessed by students and their parents," said
DPKT secretary Encep Suhayat over the weekend.

Students from both schools filed complaints with the Tangerang
regency council last week, demanding the return of their money.
The students had paid Rp 440,000 (US$46.8) each to sit the exams,
but, in May, Regent Ismet Iskandar had issued a decree declaring
that the exams would be free.

Encep blamed the school boards for not outlining in detail the
process of holding the exams.

Chairman of council commission E overseeing education, Ozi
Saeroji, said the school boards allegedly had no intention of
returning the students' money. He added that the students had
been threatened that they would fail their exams if they filed a
complaint with the council.

Regental education agency head Mas Iman Kusnandar admitted
that the administration had subsidized the final exams, but the
amount had not been enough to cover costs, he said, so the school
had asked the students to pay a fee.

Balaraja school principal Pardi Saputra, said the school had
collected final exam fees from students since 1985 because
vocational schools held their own tests, apart from the national
exams designed by the Ministry of National Education.

"We always discuss it (the issue) with the parents before
collecting the fees. The final exam fees were collected in
February, but the decree was issued in May," he argued.

"We appreciate the regent's attention to the education sector,
but the administration does not subsidize vocational schools' own
tests. We will check with the education agency first next year so
that we can prepare our budget accordingly," Pardi said.