Student brawls, a warning against education system

By Rita A. Widiadana

JAKARTA (JP): The last school bell rings at 1 p.m. and the crimes will start soon.

The end of school could become a nightmare for thousands of junior and high school students in Jakarta.

As soon as students step out of their school gates, they may enter a "war" zone where enemies range from zealous students from rival schools to drug dealers eagerly looking for new customers.

It is between 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. when such crimes usually occur.

During these hours, parents can hardly breathe until they find out their kids have made it safely home.

Students, especially those enrolled in schools located in areas prone to crime, including street brawls, may find their way home frightening.

Ita, a student at SMA 34 high school in Pondok Labu, South Jakarta, related an unpleasant after-school experience she had.

"I was waiting for a bus with some other girls when suddenly a large number of students attacked us and other people," Ita said. She did not know why she was attacked and could do nothing but run to save herself.

Donny, a student at SMA 46 in Blok A, Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta, is ready to face any attack.

"Our school doesn't have enemies, but we, the boys, are ready to defend ourselves if other students approach us," he said.

Donny added that minor disputes, including shouting matches at a bus stop, flirting with a girl and loosing a sporting competition to a rival school, could cause warring students to engage in continual brawls.

In the past few months, the capital hardly has seen a single day pass without at least one student brawl.

In full-scale brawls involving dozens of students, stones and bricks are not the only weapons the combatants employ. Many of them are fully armed with knives, sickles, metal chains, swords and even guns.

City police chief Maj. Gen. Noegroho Djajoesman said the students had taken their street brawls too far and there were indications their actions had become criminal acts which endangered the safety of innocent people.

"The police will no longer show them (brawling students) mercy, but will begin to take stern measures against those caught fighting in the streets," he said.

Police statistics on student brawls paint a gruesome picture.

In l998, Jakarta recorded a total of 230 street brawls with 15 fatalities and scores of students and bystanders seriously injured. In the same year, at least 1,550 students were caught from an estimated 110 brawls. A number of students were brought to court, while 68 are still being investigated.

This year has shown no improvement. Student brawls have turned to more serious crimes, including bus-hijackings, robberies and murders, targeting not only rival students but also other parties, including bus drivers.

During the first four months of l999, more than 20 students were killed in student brawls, including Joko Ariyanto, 17, a student at STM Budi Mulia technical high school in Cakung, East Jakarta, who was stabbed by an angry resident.

In Bogor, about 60 kilometers south of here, 14 technical high school students from Jakarta drowned in Cisadane River in an effort to escape police arrest.

Earlier this month, dozens of junior high school students, still wearing their blue and white school uniforms, assaulted a 21-year-old Metromini bus attendant, Solichin, who died on the way to Al Kamal Hospital in Kedoya, West Jakarta.

Their crime shocked people and shattered the community's sense of security.

The case has kindled a heated debate on the decline of morals and family values among youth. People were startled that today's youth were capable of atrocious acts of mental and physical violence.

"I can't believe that these junior high school students were involved in such a savage crime," Resmi Marpaung, a teacher at SMA 34, said.

Such disbelief was echoed around the country as people struggled to come to terms with what had happened. Many experts voiced fears the problem may be deep-rooted.

"This is a serious warning to us that there is something wrong with our society and our education system," Sartono Mukadis, a noted psychologist, said.

Juvenile crimes, which have doubled this decade, usually are connected to after-school fights. Everyday teen problems become worse during these after-school hours, he said.

Previously, many believed the majority of all juvenile offenders were from poor or broken homes.

But the fact is that youths who commit violent crimes tend to come from middle and upper-class families.

Youth crime also is rooted in a lack of guidance at home and from the low self-esteem which comes from performing poorly at school.

Marzuki, a teacher and counselor at SMA 34 high school, said many troubled students at his school had family problems.

"Yet, we cannot generalize that all unruly students come from bad families. Some of them have understanding parents," Marzuki said.

But many of the troubled students do poorly at school. "They can't keep up with other students and get picked on by their teachers and friends," Marzuki said.

In their isolation, boys seem to suffer from an erosion of self-esteem. They respond by overcompensating. They make themselves respected by doing bad things to attract people's attention, he said.

Raida, a teacher at SMA 46 high school, however, defended the students, saying it was not all their fault.

"We must see the problems from the children's points of view. Not all the restless students are to be blamed for what they have done," Raida said.

The government, the community, families and teachers are responsible for shaping their behavior. Many people regard high school students, especially those coming from technical schools, as "little criminals" and troublemakers, she said.

Public transportation drivers have always refused to take them into their vehicles, while the police have always chased them, she said.

Can you imagine, she said, a student who lives in Ciledug has to get up very early in the morning just to catch a bus to take him to his school in Blok M, around 30 km from his home.

"At the bus shelter, he only finds that all the drivers pass him by. This is very frustrating. Not to mention other pressures from schools, peers and parents," she said.

She believes the students' criminal acts are the culmination of the continuous strain and stigma they face.

Adam Malik, a teacher at Bunda Kandung technical high school in Pasar Minggu, is upset many people label all technical high school students trouble makers.

"That is not fair. The trouble makers are just a minority group. The others are good and polite students," Adam said.

Despite efforts to involve students in constructive school and extracurricular activities, he said teachers alone would not be able to control their students' after-school activities.

"I suggest that all related parties, including parents, the police, teachers and the authorities, work together to deal with students' problems," Adam said.