Students protest tuition fee hike

BOGOR (JP): Hundreds of senior economics and technical high school students grouped under the New Technology Vocational School Foundation protested here yesterday over the tuition fee hike from Rp 30,000 (US$2.25) per month to Rp 35,000.

During the demonstration at the foundation's compound on Jl. Semeru the students threw paper and deflated the tires of a car belonging to one of their teachers.

They said that instead of raising the fees, the foundation -- which includes an economics and technical school -- should lower them to Rp 25,000. "In the current crisis, we find it difficult to buy food, let alone pay higher fees," one of the protesters, who asked not to be named, said.

They also rejected the foundation's decision to raise practical fees from Rp 75,000 for the economics schools to Rp 90,000 and from Rp 75,000 to Rp 85,000 for the technical schools.

Responding to the students' protest, T.B. Tatang Muhtar, the school principal, who is also the foundation's treasurer, spontaneously revoked the fee hike decision. "The tuition fee will remain at Rp 30,000 per month," he told the students.

Tatang explained that the revocation was aimed mainly at curbing the students' anger, which he feared could lead to the destruction of school facilities.

However, he refused to revoke the decision on the practical fees increase on the grounds that prices of goods needed for the practicals had already increased substantially.

Despite the revocation the students were unsatisfied. They later held a street rally along major roads, including Jl. Semeru, Jl. Merdeka, Jl. Kapten Muslihat, Jl. Juanda, and Jl. Pajajaran. (24/hhr)