SMP 56 defiant on first day back

SMP 56 defiant on first day back

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta

At least 40 new students of junior high school SMP 56 in Melawai,
South Jakarta, attended a solemn ceremony to mark the first day
of the school year, still wearing their red-and-white elementary
school uniforms.

The principal, Nurlaila, in her speech told the new students
and 44 second-graders to stay put amid expected intimidation and
pressure owing to the ongoing legal limbo over the status of the
school.

"You have enrolled here. We will still face pressure and
intimidation since authorities said that the academic reports we
issued were illegal. But, trust me. God will side with us,"
Nurlaila said.

She later distributed free books and school uniforms to the
new students, who were accompanied by their parents.

The first day of the school year ended with fresh tension
between the school and the city administration.

Jakarta Police grilled Nurlaila, declaring her a suspect on at
least three charges: holding educational activities without a
permit, document forgery and entering unlawfully the grounds of
another.

The case centered around a land swap deal in 2000 between the
Ministry of National Education and developer PT Tata Disantara,
which is owned by businessman and former manpower minister Abdul
Latief.

Some of the parents and teachers protested against the deal,
which would relocate the school to Jeruk Purut, also in South
Jakarta.

As the dispute drags on, not many of the original protesters
remain, in the meantime, the school has received legal support
and financial backup from non-governmental organization
Government Watch (Gowa). Also, several officials have been
reported to the police by teachers for alleged intimidation and
negligence.

The parents of new students at the school acknowledged that
they had enrolled their children there as they had been offered
free books and uniforms, and no tuition fees.

A resident of Pasar Minggu, who requested anonymity, said that
her daughter graduated from state elementary school SD 11 Pejaten
Timur.

"I enrolled my daughter here as the school imposed no fee for
tuition, uniforms and books," a mother of six children was quoted
as saying by Antara.

Prima, a resident of Bintaro, who has a daughter at the
school, expressed confidence that the government would not simply
disband the school.

"Any effort to close the school down would be of no avail.
Both parents and teachers would join hands to oppose it," he
asserted.

He added that parents would also demand that the
administration recognize the validity of academic reports issued
by the school.

"Otherwise, we will file a lawsuit so that the reports are
recognized," he said.