Students leave SMP 56, principal stays on

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The remaining 53 students from SMP 56 junior high school in Melawai, South Jakarta, bid farewell to their old school on Monday during the last flag-hoisting ceremony.

The ceremony was held on the parking lot of state bank BNI's Melawai branch, as the school building was sealed off by the Jakarta administration on Nov. 17.

Ordered by the city administration, the students agreed to move to SMP 13 nearby and left the school principal Nurlela to fight alone to get the school back.

"This is not really a farewell. The children have to continue their studies. I thank the School Committee and parents who had been in this fight together with me. But I will stay until the Supreme Court says otherwise," she said.

The school building was still in legal dispute as Nurlela and some parents the land swap deal between the Ministry of Education and developer PT Tata Disantara was tainted with corruption which required them to move to a new school building in the Jeruk Purut area of South Jakarta.

Their persistent fight had put the students in limbo as the city administration declared Nurlela's school illegal and that the students could not resume their studies if they did not move to another state school.

Since the closure of the Melawai school building, while the students were away on Idul Fitri holiday, the students had to study under the scorching heat on the sidewalk of the commercial district in Melawai.

The police have also named Nurlela -- who has been fired as a state teacher by the Jakarta administration -- a suspect for operating an illegal school.

The administration officials said that they might drop Nurlela's case if she were to make an official apology.