SMP 56 Melawai takes new students, despite dispute
SMP 56 Melawai takes new students, despite dispute
Damar Harsanto, Jakarta
The SMP 56 junior high school in Melawai, South Jakarta, which
the city administration says is illegal, has accepted 50 new
students for this academic year.
Meanwhile, ongoing legal action against the school puts the
future of its existing 40 students in doubt.
Farid Faqih of Government Watch (Gowa), a non-governmental
organization, said the school needed to take on new students to
maintain its existence.
"All educational activities at the school must continue while
the legal process drags on. We now have second grade students and
two classrooms of first graders. Each classroom has between 20
and 25 students who will start school on July 18," Farid said.
Gowa is currently financing the operation of the school and is
paying the teachers' salaries.
The school is not charging tuition fees. It is also providing
free school uniforms for new students.
SMP 56 came under the public spotlight after several teachers
with the support of parents refused to move to new buildings in
Jeruk Perut. They continue to operate the school in protest at a
2000 land swap deal between the Ministry of National Education
and property developer PT Tata Disantara.
The company, owned by former manpower minister Abdul Latief,
plans to convert the school into a business college. The school
is located near the Pasaraya Grande shopping mall, also owned by
Adul.
In exchange for the Melawai plot, PT Tata gave the government
buildings for the Jeruk Purut school and others in South
Jakarta's Bintaro area.
Gowa alleges the deal was illegal because the property swap
was carried out without the president's permission. The deal
smacked of corruption, Gowa said, and the group has taken legal
action to fight the move.
The legal dispute worsened when Governor Sutiyoso reported the
teachers to the police for running an illegal school and said the
city would not recognize the students' grades.
The city cites the 2003 law on national education that
requires all schools to obtain an operating license from a
regional administration or the government. If found guilty,
offenders face jail sentences of up to 10 years and/or a Rp 1
billion fine.
The police investigation into the case is continuing.
Meanwhile, National Commission for Children's Protection
chairman Seto Mulyadi deplored the school's move to take on new
students, saying it would drag innocents into a legal dispute.
Seto stressed the students who enrolled at the Melawai school
would not receive any academic credits from the administration.
The commission was already helping several students from SMP
56 catch up on lessons they had missed, Seto said.
"During their school holidays, these students are studying
under a program known as the 'bridging scheme' with the help of
between five and 10 voluntary teachers," he said.