Student brawls in Jakarta

Student brawls in Jakarta

From Suara Karya

I feel very concerned about the continuing brawls involving
high school students. I think it is an extraordinary problem for
the students, for the schools, for the parents and even for the
government.

While riding to my office at Tanjung Priok on Oct. 18 on a
metromini bus around YARSI university, Jl. Suprapto, Jakarta,
many high school students were leaving school from Cempaka Putih
direction. At that time there was no fighting.

The metromini bus was stopped by some eight high school
students male and female in front of the Honda automotive plant,
Jl. Yos Sudarso, North Jakarta. I was curious, normally school is
over at 1 p.m., my watch showed 10 a.m. Why had the students left
their school? When I asked them why, they said their teachers
were not in. When asked further how many times were the teachers
absent in one month, they said "often".

Similarly, the students of two private high schools around Jl.
Swasembada Timur and Jl. Swasembada Barat almost three times a
week leave school before 1 p.m. (Mondays through Thursdays), and
especially on Saturdays they fight against other high school
students at Jl. Ampera, North Jakarta.

I conclude from this that early departure from school triggers
the fighting. So, there must be substitute teachers if some
teachers are absent.

Clearly the students don't consider the following when they
are brawling:

1. If they or their parents or brothers are walking and are
disturbed by a students brawling, how do they feel?

2. If they are hit by stones and are injured, who will pay the
medical bills but their parents?

3. If they are caught by the police and punished or questioned,
or perhaps asked to prepare statements or anything else, who will
make the arrangements but their parents?

4. Fighting is useless. So, better go home and help their parents
do something at home.

That is part of the Jakarta high school fighting problem. So
far the high school students' fights have aroused concerns to
parents in Jakarta and perhaps in other big cities.

We'll give some tips to overcome it in another opportunity. I
have some pointers which might be helpful in overcoming students'
brawls.

GUSTAP MARPAUNG

Jakarta