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.