SMP 56 open for new admissions amid dispute
SMP 56 open for new admissions amid dispute
Damar Harsanto, Jakarta
The operator of state middle school SMP 56 in Melawai, South
Jakarta, has opened for new student enrollment while the legal
dispute over the property's ownership drags on.
"We have opened for new admissions today, but no students have
come to enroll yet," Ina Harahap, the school treasurer, told The
Jakarta Post on Friday.
The school is waiving tuition and registration fees, and is
providing free school uniforms in order to attract new students.
"We will only require Rp 1,000 to cover the costs of the
enrollment form," Ina said.
Registration will close on July 11, and admission tests for
new students are set for June 28 and July 12.
City secretary Ritola Tasmaya deplored the school's move,
which he considered illegal. Referring to the 2003 law on
national education, he said the school had no license to operate,
either from the Jakarta administration or the government.
Article 71 of the law stipulates a maximum jail sentence of 10
years and/or a Rp 1 billion fine for offenders.
Ritola made it clear that any students who enrolled at the
Melawai SMP 56 would not receive any academic credit from the
administration.
"We have issued a circular to parents notifying them that the
lawful SMP 56 is located in Jeruk Purut, South Jakarta, not
Melawai. I believe parents will not place their children in such
a difficult situation," he said.
The Melawai school came under the public spotlight after
several teachers, students and parents of the school refused to
move to the new Jeruk Perut facility in protest of a 2000 land
swap deal between the Ministry of National Education and property
developer PT Tata Disantara.
The company is owned by former manpower minister Abdul Latief,
who proposed to build a business college on the plot, which is
nearby Pasaraya Grande shopping mall -- which he also owns.
In exchange for the Melawai plot, PT Tata gave the government
the Jeruk Purut school and another in Bintaro, which is also in
South Jakarta but close to the Tangerang border.
Non-governmental organization Government Watch (Gowa), which
is providing financial aid for day-to-day operations of the
Melawai school, has alleged the deal smelled of corruption.
"We have stepped in to help the school resume its activities,
because education is a basic right," said Gowa chairman Farid
Faqih.
In April, when the Melawai teachers and students resisted
closure, the city administration reported school headmaster
Nurlaila to the police for conducting "unlicensed educational
activities", while the school reported city officials for
intimidation and negligence.
Among the officials named in the complaint are Minister of
National Education Abdul Malik Fajar and Governor Sutiyoso.
Most recently, Nurlaila filed a complaint on Wednesday with
the police against Jeruk Purut SMP 56 headmaster Agus Bambang
over his remarks on a May 9 television program. Agus said she had
once suffered severe depression for two years following the
sudden death of her husband in 1999.